Caretaker
by LuigiWife1551
Summary: To the six pups, Ryder was the best leader they could have ever asked for. He's always gone above and beyond to keep them happy, but they never knew how to repay him. When the boy comes down with what the pups assume is just a cold, they know it's time to finally return the favor and care for him as he's always cared for them.
1. Worry

**Hello all! I bring you yet another PAW Patrol fic- jeez, I've got the bug or something, it's been awhile since I've had so many ideas for one particular fandom!**

 **I hope you guys enjoy! Own nothing, the usual.**

* * *

 **Caretaker**

 **Chapter 1-Worry**

Since they were first adopted, trained and became the PAW Patrol, none of the pups have ever seen Ryder come down with a cold. Not even so much as a sniffle, nothing.

Ryder had a difficult job, just like the young pups, and even still, he had always been there for them. Each pup could remember times they've been sick or injured, and how the ten year old brother-like figure cared for them. From dispensing medicine to rubbing bellies to cleaning up disgusting messes to comforting them when fevers turned into delirium, the pups have seen Ryder stay with them through it all.

But sick? Him? Somehow, he'd managed to avoid it. They couldn't figure it out for the life of them, how Ryder could stay so strong and healthy with everything that could, would and had happened.

The pups had been through a scare a few years back, and even then, they felt as if they never did enough to take care of the handler who gave them pretty much everything. They often wondered how they could repay him, how they could show how much they apricated everything he'd done for them.

When that time finally came, Ryder would learn that his pups, his _family_ , would always be by his side and help him. And he couldn't have asked for a better family to love.

* * *

It stared out like any other day- well, almost. The team was on day 14 of non stop rescuing. While the weather was perfect, a beautiful, breezy spring afternoon, and the pups and Ryder should have been enjoying it, they had been busy. Very, very busy.

One thing after another kept arising that needed the PAW Patrol- from rescuing Chickaletta, Cornelius, Mayor Goodway and Alex from all sorts of hijicks, to helping the mayor fix and clean City Hall, to other, well, odd requests from the residents of Adventure Bay. Even Ryder was wondering what was going on in this city as they ran themselves ragged.

One evening, after the longest water rescue ever known that featured Capt'n Turbot, Wally the Walrus, and an insane amount of stinky squid jerky bait, Ryder called the pups to the upper level of the Lookout. It took all the energy for the six hardworking pups just to get to the elevator, and even hyperactive Marshall was beyond exhausted and didn't bother with a classic wipeout. Instead, he staggered inside the elevator and plopped next to Rubble and Rocky, both of whom were struggling to stay awake.

"What, no wipeout today, Marshall?" Chase lightly joked. Marshall waved a paw at his best friend, too tired to lift his head to look at him.

"Honestly, Chase, I'm completely wiped out!" he returned the joke in kind, earning a few light chuckles from the pup pile. Chase looked up as the elevator doors closed and began moving upwards.

"You think there's another rescue?" he wondered, trying to maintain professional posture. But even he couldn't do it, and he sagged at the thought of yet ANOTHER request. "I really can't take another rescue tonight; my paws are about ready to fall off!"

"You'we telling me, dude." Zuma agreed. He and Skye were leaning on each other, Skye half asleep. "That water rescue was WAY too long, even for me, and I love water! What on eawth was Captain Tuwbot doing so far out fwom Adventuwe Beach, anyways?"

Grunts of confusion were Zuma's only answer. Finally, Rubble spoke. "Don't ask, Zuma. It's Capt'n Turbot. I don't get how he gets himself home to his lighthouse sometimes."

Before anyone could agree or disagree to the statement, the elevator stopped at the changing room. Chase hit the button to allow the elevator to go past it, since the pups had been too tired to get out of their usual gear earlier. It continued its ascent up the Lookout Tower quietly- Marshall, Skye and now Rubble were two steps away from completely falling asleep, Rocky was looking out the windows to keep his mind awake, and Zuma was resting his head on his paws next to Skye, fighting sleep himself. None of the pups were up for much conversation after all the action they've dealt with alone today.

Chase was the only one still sitting up, but as the elevator came closer and closer to the mission room, dread built up in his stomach. "Please, please, please let there be no missions..." he mumbled to himself.

The few minutes of peace they had was cut short as the elevator reached its final destination. Three sleepy pups lifted their heads and stared at the door.

"Oh man... this is going to be a long night..." Marshall mumbled tiredly. The others agreed.

Once the door opened, one by one, the tired pups dragged their beaten bodies out into normal lineup, lacking the usual enthusiasm they normally had. Even Chase had to force his head up, he was that tired. He nudged Rocky to wake Skye up, who had fallen asleep sitting up. Once she was a bit more awake, Chase looked at Ryder.

"P-PAW Patrol, ready for-" Chase was interrupted by a yawn, which soon made its way up and down the line. "-for action, Ryder, sir."

Ryder was smiling, and Chase noticed the mission screen wasn't on. He blinked, then rubbed his eyes, making sure he wasn't in some weird dream. "Uhhh, Ryder, sir? Is everything okay? The monitor-"

"I know, Chase." Ryder yawned himself before he put his hands on his hips and smiled. "There is no mission tonight. I have an announcement to make."

Now that caught the pups attention. They all sat up straighter and some of their tails wagged- Ryder sounded excited about something. "Is it a really big bone? Do we get extra treats?" Rubble happily wondered, his tummy growling in agreement. The others shook their heads and laughed.

"Not exactly, Rubble. Listen, pups." Ryder approached them and knelt in front of them.

"You've all been working very hard, and despite all the craziness that goes on around here, you've been handling it very well. So I was thinking..." Ryder pulled out his pup pad and held it up to them.

"Everest and Jake are away at a snowboarding competition, and Carlos and Tracker are doing some major archeologist digging and aren't going to be finished any time soon. So I was thinking, if you pups want-"

Chase's eyes widened as he began to catch on to what Ryder was asking. His tail wagged like mad as he jumped into Ryder's arms, licking his cheeks and face. "You mean we can finally-?!"

The other pups were just confused. They looked at one another for answers, and all they received were shrugs and looks of 'I have no idea.'

Marshall finally asked what everyone was thinking- "We can finally what, Chase? Ryder?"

Chase looked at his friends and smiled widely. "Pups, we finally have a free day! We can do whatever we want to tomorrow! He really meant it when he said no missions! Yahooo!"

It took the exhausted pups' a few moments to register that. After that, howls, yips and barks of happiness echoed throughout their Lookout home. Ryder was pummeled with Chase, Marshall and Rubble jumping happily on top of him, while Rocky and Zuma high pawed each other and Skye, although physically tired, managed to flip for joy. Finally, an actual day off!

Ryder had to admit, he definitely understood the pups' over excitement for having some time to do things they wanted to do- he was honestly excited when he had gotten the call from Mayor Goodway earlier that day, even if he did try to argue it.

* * *

 _Earlier that morning..._

 _"W-Wait. Are you sure about that, Mayor Goodway?" Ryder questioned for the tenth time already. He was looking at his pup pad in disbelief as Mayor Good nodded her head and smiled._

 _"Yes, Ryder. You and the PAW Patrol have always done so much for this city, and I don't know where we would be without you!" she said gratefully. Chickaletta's head popped into view, clucking in her usual cute but clueless way. Ryder and Goodway chuckled before they resumed the conversation._

 _"But Mayor Goodway, seriously. You don't have to do this. The PAW Patrol-"_

 _"Exactly my point! The PAW Patrol managed EVERYTHING in this town! But you forget, you are all young children and you need time off, too!" She seemed very adamant about the whole day off thing. Ryder walked outside and looked at his pups from the balcony._

 _All of them were fast asleep in a pup pile after a hectic rescue, none of them even bothering to get inside their pup houses and change out of their gear. Ryder felt warmth in his chest as he watched them sleep._

 _"You see?" Mayor Goodway's soft voice snapped him out of his thoughts. She saw the small, warm smile forming on Ryder's face, and was glad he was beginning to see reason. "You all work too hard, and even with that party we threw for you to show our appreciation, you all still had to work in order for the party to be a success! Ryder, please... please consider taking the day off. We've already gotten volunteers to cover anything that needs covering, and Cap't Turbot will take care of the beach."_

 _Ryder lowered his head. Although he was grateful for the event, and all the pups truly did enjoy setting up for the whole thing, even he had to admit the past few weeks were taking their toll. He was feeling weak, like his body was about to give in at any moment, and his head was constantly hurting from having to lead, plan and execute so many different missions and orders._

 _"Please, Ryder. You and the pups take the day off? We are the adults here, we can handle one day without the PAW Patrol saving us!"_

 _'Can you guys really do that?" Ryder thought to himself. But then again, she had a point. A very good point. Maybe one day couldn't hurt. Just one._

 _"Alright, Mayor Goodway." Ryder finally answered. He straightened up and headed back inside. She had a point. If he kept going like this, he was bound to get himself stressed and sick. "We'll take the day off tomorrow-"_

 _He was cut off by a sudden cough. Nothing major, just sudden and strange. He frowned as he wiped his mouth and cleared his throat. Mayor Goodway was worried herself- it was only a matter of time, and Ryder didn't look too good._

 _"Ryder? Are you alright? Do you need another few days-?"_

 _"No, Mayor Goodway. I'm fine. I'll tell the pups later on about the day off. Talk to you later!" Ryder quickly ended the call before she could ask anything else, tossing his Pup Pad on his bean bag chair. He leaned against the elevator for a moment, catching his breath._

 _"Yeah... we're all just tired. Me included. One day of rest and then I'll be fine." Ryder convinced himself as he went to wake his pups and give them the good news._

* * *

Ryder coughed again as the three pups finally hopped off his chest and chatted about what they wanted to do tomorrow. Chase glanced over at Ryder, and noticed that Ryder looked... beat. Really, really beat. He was struggling to walk back to the elevator, which was way different compared to a few moments ago, his hand massging his temples. Chase didn't want to say anything, but he was a little worried.

 _'He really needs to rest. I'm sure glad we have this day off. I wonder if he can take another day off...hmm...'_

The next day, Marshall, Rubble and Zuma went to the beach, Skye went to hang out with Ace and practice her trick flying, Rocky was off at the city dump looking for salavaged and reuseable parts to add to his collection, and Chase was still working as a lifeguard, making sure all was in order and no one was doing anything dangerous.

Ryder couldn't help but smile at Chase's request to be the lifeguard on duty. Since he first adopted him, Chase had always been the responsible older pup, despite Everest being the oldest. Maturity definitely happened early, and Chase embraced it well... sometimes a little TOO well.

He did tell Chase to enjoy himself and have a little fun, too, but the German Shepard pup was adamant about taking his post as lifeguard today, despite Ryder assuring him that Capt'n Turbot would be doing that. He also insisted that he would check in with the young boy every so often until his shift ended.

 _'What a good pup, but he still needs to enjoy his day off.'_ Ryder thought. _'I wonder why he wants to patrol the beach? Mayor Goodway told me the captain would be watching the beach. Chase, just enjoy your day off, okay?'_

Then again, Ryder continued as he headed for his room, he wasn't really in a position to talk- he often forgot he was a child himself, just shy of his 11th birthday. But here he was, his city's best and only savior, and a big human brother to six little heroic pups. He got them a home, built all their machines and vehicles, trained them to do six very unique and different jobs, and all with a patience and love that rivaled any parent-

He paused. Well, he assumed he was better than any parent. He had no clue what parents actually did since his were no longer around. But he had pretty decent role models to learn from. _'Pretty decent MOST of the time. Other times, I really wonder how this town got along so well before we came.'_

As he opened his bedroom door, Ryder checked his PupPad for anyone who may of tried to reach him. He sighed in relief when he saw no missed called- Mayor Goodway simply send a text from her and Chickaletta- _' **Enjoy your day, Ryder and pups! Don't you worry about anything but having fun! We'll be fine and we can handle it!'**_

Ryder placed his pad down on his desk and looked at his bed. Yeah, usually he was here to lend a hand- and paw- if someone "yelped for help". That was their thing, after all.

Just not today. Mayor Goodway was right- the city should be able to handle themselves. They were adults, after all. It really couldn't hurt to actually act his age for once and take a break- and by break, he meant sleep and catch up on his video games.

Ryder swiped to the left on his pad, and checked off a few to-dos he'd gotten done over the course of the week- he finished fixing Chase's truck after the winch snapped off, tuned his ATV for the millionth time this week, finally got Marshall to get rid of some seriously smelly chew toys he'd had tucked away in the back of his pup house, had Rubble help Mayor Goodway clean off the Chickletta statue, cleaned out his rather messy bedroom and did a small load of laundry.

"Jeez..." Ryder mused as he clicked off his PupPad and placed it on its charger. "What a crazy two weeks... I'm glad I can sleep in for once." He felt a headache coming on yet again and rubbed his forehead.

"Man, my head is killing me... but I think I'm out of aspirin." he mumbled. "Maybe I should take a quick nap first, then play the game."

Being a ten year old came with the logic that no matter how much his body bothered him, he could still play a video game. And he was determined to do that this time around.

Ryder changed into his PJs, made a quick ham and cheese sandwich and grabbed a glass of water for lunch, and headed back to his bedroom for a much overdue gameplay of one of his favorite games- 'Puppy Runner: Save the Princess!'

"Wonder how the-" He was cut off by another sudden cough, followed by a strange tickle in the back of his throat. "-the pups are doing. Hopefully they're having a good time... I have to remember to make dinner for them later..."

Ryder settled in for the next three hours, periodically checking on his pups, talking to Chase for a few moments when the police pup called in, and slowly eating his lunch as he played his video game. As he made it to the final boss, he began dropping off to Dreamland, his game loosely dangling in his hands. He'd jerk awake from time to time, thinking he heard something and making a lot of clumsy mistakes against the final boss of the game.

Ultimately, though, sleep won. Ryder's body crashed and he was fast asleep, his game resting on his lap.

* * *

 **And done! Quick note:**

 **I was playing around with this idea for a while- I noticed that there wasn't a lot of Ryder-centric stories on this site, and even in the show, save for "Pups Save Ryder", I've never really seen Ryder be cared for or anything like that. With that, this idea came about, and I'm looking forward to working on it.**

 **In any case, please let me know what you all think.**

 **Until next chapter!**


	2. Concern

**Hello all!**

 **I'm glad this story was received well; thanks to all who left a review, favorited and/or followed. I appreciate it!**

 **I hope you guys enjoy this next chapter!**

* * *

 **Caretaker**

 **Chapter 2-Concern**

While Ryder slept in, Chase drove back to the Lookout after his shift ended at the beach. He tapped his pup tag to activate video chat on his dashboard, per his usual routine.

"Hello? Ryder, sir?" Chase called. The police pup heard light sounds, but wasn't able to discern what it was at first. Needless to say, Ryder wasn't answering his video call.

 _'Maybe he's fixing up his ATV? No, he was supposed to take today off! That means no fixing things!'_ Chase started to slow down as he tried again, half ready to lecture Ryder if he was doing such a thing- despite their ranks, Chase felt as though sometimes Ryder could be so hardheaded and he had to scold him!

At the simple thought of lecturing Ryder, Chase had a fleeting memory flash through his mind, something that happened when he was much smaller, but it was gone as quickly as it came. Chase shrugged it off- if it was important, he'd remember it later. Right now, he had a leader to reach.

"Hello? Ryder, sir? Are you there?" he tried again. This time, he recognized the sounds he heard earlier- it wasn't of someone's tinkering, but breathing- no, not just normal breathing. It was if someone was snoring.

"Huh. Maybe Ryder's just taking a nap? He did look pretty tired earlier...maybe I should let him rest." Chase wondered aloud as he pulled over to the side of the road and cut his engine. "Or I wonder if I should just wait until I get home..."

After a few more seconds, Chase leaned closer to his dashboard and in as loud a voice as he could muster, yelled. "Ryder, sir! Wake up!"

This time, Ryder heard it. He slowly opened his eyes, trying to figure out why on earth his eyes and head, along with the rest of his body, felt like there was something heavy atop it. He yawned and glanced down at his Pup Pad. There was something odd on the screen, not the video game over screen he'd last remember seeing...

Wait... that IS what he was doing earlier, right? Playing the game? Or is that what he had been doing?

"Hello? Ryder, are you there?" There it was again, those same frantic cries. _'Don't I... know that voice?'_ Ryder sleepily wondered as he turned on his side, trying to go back to sleep. He pushed the Pup Pad off to the side, whatever that grating noise coming from it increasing the headache he woke with. It was too early to be figuring stuff out, and if it was one of the residents calling, he definitely didn't want to answer it.

 _'My head hurts, and its too early to get up. I still have my day off. I'll deal with it lat-'_

"Ryder! It's Chase! Come on, say something!"

Ryder let out a small moan as he opened an eye and flopped his hand around. Fingers finally resting on the Pup Pad, he pulled it close and saw Chase's face on the screen.

Wait- Chase? Why was in his video game? _'I must be having one weird dream. Why is Chase saving the princess?'_

"Chase? That you?" Ryder yawned. "Are you... in my dream, too?"

Chase tilted his head to the side. "Huh? Dream? No, Ryder- this is no dream. Are you alright?"

Ryder sat up, rubbed the sleep from his eyes- then felt a dizzying, sharp pain in his head. No dream he could ever have would still let him have a headache. _'Ohhhh, this isn't a dream. It's actually Chase. Oh wow, it must be getting late. Maybe I should try and get up, but I'm so tired. I want to go back to sleep!'_

Flopping back on his pillow, Ryder tossed his arm over his eyes to try and dull the pain from his head, just enough that he could remember what he needed to get done tonight. He also needed to have energy to pretend he was alright, for the pups sake. _'I can't let the pups see me like this, especially Chase. He'll worry himself to death. Come on, Ryder, up and at 'em!'_

As for Chase, he was just glad Ryder finally answered- after calling him so many times, he was beginning to wonder if something had happened. Still, Ryder sounded... off. Something was wrong, but he once again decided to push his gut feeling aside.

"R-Ryder, sir?" Chase cautiously said, leaning away from his dashboard. He watched as Ryder let out another yawn, groaned as he sat all the way up, and his face eventually come into view. But something was wrong- Ryder looked like he was in some kind of discomfort or pain, and he was rubbing small circles on his forehead.

 _'I think I'd better talk to Mayor Goodway about Ryder taking another few days off. He's been rubbing his head a lot lately, and he's coughing, too. Probably because of all the work we've been doing non stop. He needs to rest, too.'_ Chase mentally noted. He plastered a smile on his face so Ryder wouldn't suspect anything and proceeded with the call.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were asleep." Chase apologized. "I just wanted to let you know I'm heading back to the Lookout- Capt'n Turbot is watching the beach for me, so my shift is over."

"Oh, okay-" Suddenly, Ryder began coughing. Chase's smile didn't last very long- he never saw Ryder cough that bad before. Ryder reached for his water and took a long swing of it before he beat his chest to get everything flowing down. "O-Okay, Chase. Whew, that was weird..."

Chase frowned- was Ryder really getting sick? He didn't look that sick... maybe he'd just eaten something that got caught in his throat? "Ryder sir?" he asked, his voice low and worried. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just a small cough, no need to get concerned, Chase." Ryder laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "Guess I ate my lunch too fast, huh?"

It didn't really convince his police pup. Not one bit. Chase wasn't saying anything, but Ryder didn't need him to- the worry was clear as day on his face. Ryder smiled softly. "Chase, I'm okay. I promise. Nothing to worry about, you understand?" he did his best to assure him.

Chase still wasn't too sure, but decided to believe Ryder for now. He'd have Marshall check him later on. "Yes sir, Ryder sir." Chase replied. "Do you need me to stop by Mr. Porter's or anything before I get back?"

Humming a little in thought, Ryder shrugged and glanced down at his paused game. "Uhhhh, yeah. Could you stop by Katie's place and ask her if she has any aspirin? I need the children's type. I think all this rescuing and thinking is giving me a headache- can't really imagine how Marshall never seems to get one with all his crashes and wipeouts!"

Both human and pup shared a laugh. Ryder was relieved- at least Chase was looking more like himself. _'Guess laughter is really the best medicine sometimes.'_

"Oh, since I almost forgot. I'm going to get dinner set up for you pups. You can stop by Mr. Porter's if you want to bring something home to them."

Chase tapped his paw to his chin. "Hmm. Well, I'll call Zuma, Rubble and Marshall and see if they know of any new Apallo the Super Pup episodes coming on. They're home so they can check on that-"

"Wait, they're home? Really?" Ryder got out of his bed and exited his room. "When did they get here?" Chase could see the Pup Pad's screen moving as he ran to the balcony. He tilted his head a little in confusion.

"Y-Yeah, Ryder, sir. They said they were done a few hours ago and headed home without me. You didn't hear them come in?"

"N-No, I didn't!" Ryder panted as he doubled over- he barely did so much as a light jog, but he felt oddly winded for some reason. Once he gathered himself, he stepped outside and looked up. The sun was pretty close to setting, the sky a beautiful orange/pink mix. "Wow, I was asleep for a while..." he muttered to himself. His ears then picked up on some sounds from below.

Outside, Marshall was howling and barking as Rubble and Zuma raced around the Lookout on skateboards. Ryder smiled at seeing his pups having fun and acting more like pups and less like... well, professional adults. _'I really wish they could all just be pups and enjoy themselves like that all the time. They've all had to grow up so fast... I wonder if...'_

Chase noticed that nostalgic look appearing on Ryder's face, and felt his chest tighten with emotion. He'd seen that look sometimes, usually when Ryder was too lost in memory lane to notice. He liked it- it meant Ryder was thinking of easier times, when it was just them, him, and a huge building that Ryder never knew what to do with but call it home anyway.

 _'It was easier back then. Even when Ryder was technically just a child himself, and was too young to take care of us when times were hard, he still made it... fun. It wasn't rescuing and people needing us, we had always just needed each other and we'd be okay. I wonder if he misses those times, too. Because I do...'_

Chase let out a quiet sigh and lowered his paw, preparing to start up his truck. ' _I miss Ryder being a kid, and I miss being a pup... a lot.'_

"R-Ryder, sir?" Ryder snapped out of it.

"Heh, sorry, Chase. I think I got lost walking down memory lane again." Ryder turned to head back inside. "But I see them- they're outside playing. I guess check in with Skye and see how she's doing? I'll check in with Rocky, too. He should be on his way-" Ryder started coughing again, but it wasn't as bad as before. He quickly composed himself, although he had this weird tickle in the back of his throat that was beginning to irritate him. Not to mention his headache...

"Ryder? Are you sure you don't need anything else?" Chase asked one more time. He already knew what the answer would be before he heard it.

"I'm fine, Chase. Probably just need some water, is all." Ryder assured him again- but if he were being honest, he was saying it for himself. He did feel kind of strange, like everything was light but heavy at the same time. His head was another matter entirely. His eyes hurt, his throat felt weird, and his body felt older than what he was.

 _'I'll just take the medicine and I'll be fine in the morning.'_ Ryder told himself as he made his way downstairs. He sighed. _'I'll be fine in the morning. I have to be fine- the pups will need me for missions tomorrow. The city will need me, somehow.'_

Chase bit down hard on his lip. Ryder wasn't fine- now that he could see his face a little clearer, he knew that pained look from earlier wasn't him being overly concerned. Something was wrong, his gut was telling him this ten times over, but Ryder was fighting him on it! Even so, if his leader wasn't willing to talk, all Chase felt he could do was keep an eye on him.

What else could he really do?

"... I'll stop by Katie's to get that medicine, and then I'll check on Skye and Ace." Chase gave in. He was disappointed Ryder wouldn't tell him the truth.

Ryder smiled at his police pup in thanks. "I'll get everything set up for dinner and call Rocky. See you when you get back."

The video call ended. Chase sat there for a few moments, trying to sort things out in his head. "Ryder's so stubborn! There IS something wrong! Maybe its just a cold. Yeah, that's all it is. He's been working just as hard, and we've all been sick around him too many times for him _not_ to get sick!"

Turning on his police truck, Chase pulled off, driving down Main Street to get to Ace's Flying Grounds and Katie's Pet Parlor and Clinic. "Ryder's just really tired and I've got to get him this medicine he asked me for. He's counting on me!" He turned his sirens on and burned down the street even faster, not caring about rules for once.

"Chase is on the case! First stop, Katie's!"

* * *

Rocky hummed a little to himself as he drove along the stretch of quiet road from the city dump. His truck was full of all kinds of good recyclables he'd discovered, and he couldn't wait to show Ryder and the others. He had about ten projects whizzing in his brain, with many more quickly coming to mind.

"Why trash it, when you can stash it!" Rocky proclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. "And these people really don't know what they're throwing away- some of this is some seriously good junk!"

He sniffed himself, then groaned when he did a double take. "Ohhhh mannn… no way Ryder's going to let me in the Lookout smelling like this..."

Rocky banged his head on his steering wheel. Of course not- he was sitting, sifting and crawling around the dump, in people's stinky trash, for nearly half the day! He changed direction and headed left to Katie's instead of the Lookout.

Even someone as hydrophobic as him could smell the foul stench of victory on his fur. As much as he hated to say it, he was going to need a bath. Badly.

"Grrrr… stupid dump... how didn't I notice the stench in my _fur?!_ " Rocky growled under his breath as he drove. "Why me? Whyyyyy meeee? And why do baths have to be so weeeeettttt?"

As he pulled up to Katie's parking lot, he noticed a familiar blue truck already parked next to the entrance way. Well, parked wasn't the best way to describe it. It was more like haphazardly tossed in a spot, with the siren lights still flashing.

"Wait a sec- Chase? What's he doing here? And why is his truck like that? Chase is orderly, not all messy! That's a Marshall thing!" Rocky parked next to the police truck as best he could, tossed off his hat, and headed inside, both curious and dreading the bath he knew he needed to take.

At the same time Rocky entered the parlor, Chase zoomed past him, a small white paper bag in his teeth. Rocky barely got a chance to call out to him before Chase hopped in his truck, carefully tucked the white bag next to him, and pulled away in a rush.

"Geez, I wonder what he deal is?" Rocky wondered as he smelled himself again. He recoiled, his face scrunched in disgust. "I mean, yes, I do reek... pretty, pretty badly-"

"Yes, Rocky. You reek horrendously." Katie cut his monologue short. She was standing behind him, hands on her hips, a clothespin on her nose. "I smelled you from the back of the store, and I've already got the water running. You're not going to fight me on this bath tonight, are you?"

"But-I- he- awwww..." Groaning as he realized he had no excuse to escape, Rocky hung his head in defeat and slinked inside the parlor, where a bubble bath, complete with WAY too much water, was being prepared. He sat close to the entrance, not wanting to be close to it as there was far too much water splashing about, and looked out the parlor doors.

"Say, Katie? What was Chase getting from you? He ran past me with a bag, but he was so fast, I couldn't stop him."

She was moving around, cleaning up the parlor and restocking a few things as she waited for his bath to finish filling. Pausing, she thought for a minute. "Uhhh, some children's aspirin, if I'm not mistaken. Chase didn't really say for who or for what, but my guess is Ryder. He hasn't been looking too well lately."

Rocky nodded before his thoughts went to his handler. _'Ryder's not feeling well? Oh man, I wonder if he's getting sick like we did. Well, I was at a pretty dirty place today, I don't want to bring home any germs to make him feel worse!'_

Looking at the bubble bath, with its imposing, very wet water inside, Rocky gulped and jumped in. _'It's for Ryder, Rocky. It's for Ryder- oh gods, this water is sooooo wettttt and gross! YUCK!'_

"K-Katie...?"

She turned around and was pleasantly surprised- mostly just surprised- to see a sopping wet, sad looking mixed breed already soaking in the tub. Giggling, she walked over. "Yes, Rocky?"

"C-Could you-" Rocky squeezed his eyes shut as he said the words he knew would haunt him for weeks to come. "Could you... give me a good s-scrub? I was at the dump and Ryder's not going to like the smell in my fur..."

Katie happily obliged, stopping what little restock she was finishing, and grabbing a scrub brush and some shampoo. Rocky sunk further into the tub, questioning his life's choices and work as she dumped the cold, slimy-feeling substance on top of his head and began working it in.

 _'For Ryder... I'm doing it to keep him from getting sick, but I feel sick to my stomach at this smell! Too clean, wayyyyy too much water, and that shampoo thing- ohhhhhh this is just GROSS!'_ he complained in his head the entire bath.

 _'I'll call Ryder after I'm done to let him know where I am. I wonder if he did anything fun for himself today. He really should have tomorrow off, too, just in case he IS sick. We've handled rescues ourselves before, we'll be fine- isn't she DONE yet?! Seriously, I don't smell THAT bad!'_

* * *

 **And complete!**

 **I don't have much to say; please leave your thoughts, comments, constructive criticism, the usual.**

 **Until next chapter!**


	3. Accidents and Observations

**Hello all! Here is the next chapter. Before I begin, I just wanted to share something:**

 **It was brought to my attention via PM by chase the new pup that I had written in my story that Ryder asked for children's aspirin. I did do some digging around, and while sources don't 100 percent agree, there are a few points that were agreed upon and constantly referenced. One is that you are NEVER supposed to give a child under the age of 12 aspirin due to a possibility of them developing a rare and possibly deadly condition known as Reye's Syndrome. You're also never supposed to give a child aspirin, regardless of age, if they've had any viral infection, if they've had the chicken pox, or if they had recently received immunizations. Oddly enough, I've never had the chicken pox nor to my knowledge ever got vaccinated for it (however, I'm certain my parents got me vaccinated, I just don't remember it myself.) There are also parents who feel fine giving their kids aspirin, but in small doses. I personally do not have kids, but I guess to each their own.**

 **Luckily, it's a very easy fix, and I'll have it in the next chapter, but I wanted to share the knowledge (I'm in school for nursing and this was new to me, so thank you chase the new pup!)**

 **With that, please enjoy!**

* * *

 **Caretaker**

 **Chapter 3-Accidents and Observations**

While Chase raced back to the Lookout, and Rocky finished his impromptu bath appointment at Katie's...

Back at the Lookout, Marshall cheered loudly as Zuma and Rubble continued their little race around the tower. He was acting as judge, watching the whole scene with a careful eye- well, as careful as the normally clumsy pup could be.

So far, it was a tight race- neither Zuma nor Rubble showed signs of backing down, being literally neck and neck with each other as they finished two out of three laps. They decided to solve things the only way they saw best- skateboard race off! Although Marshall had pointed out they could prove who was the best at the surfboard competition tomorrow morning, the competitive streak in the young pups was too strong.

"Go, Zuma! Go, Rubble!" the energetic dally pup yelled at the top of his lungs, jumping up and down in excitement and anticipation. "Come on guys, just one more lap! Keep going!"

The chocolate lab was grinning confidently as he rounded a turn, just barely edging Rubble out. He finished one last lap and howled in happiness, he had this race in the-

"Not this time, Zuma!"

"Wait, what?!"

"Rubble, skateboarding on the double!" the French bulldog laughed as he narrowly managed to edge Zuma out and taking the lead once more. He pushed his legs to the max, skating as hard as he could manage. In all his eagerness to win, he failed to notice a stray chew toy laying in his path. Zuma saw it, quickly avoided it, but lost his balance and toppled over, landing pretty hard on his side.

"Wubble, dude! Look out!" he tried to call out. He winced- man, that was one hard fall! "Ouch, that smawts…! Wonder if Wubble heawd me..." Seeing as his opponent was still going, Zuma deadpanned. "Nope, definitely didn't hear me."

"You okay, Zuma?! That was some wipeout!" Marshall yelled. Zuma raised his paw to indicate he was more or less fine, just sore. Still worried and not wanting to bother Ryder, Marshall quickly went to retrieve his EMT gear to check his friend out.

As he did, he failed to actually pay attention to where he was heading, and unknowingly ran right into the path of an oncoming skateboarding construction pup. Rubble saw him far too late to stop.

"Marshall! Look out!"

"Uh-oh-"

BAM! Skateboard, helmet and two pups flew through the air and landed a few feet away from Zuma. Rubble landed on something soft and a bit squirmy, and realized it was Marshall, who cushioned his fall.

"Uhhhh… are you okay, Marshall?" Rubble wondered as he rolled off top of him. Marshall's lip was busted and bleeding, and his head was spinning. Poor Rubble's eyes widened- there was something red dripping down Marshall's chin, a something that looked a lot like blood.

"I-I'm so sorry, Marshall! I'm sorry, I didn't see you!" Rubble was honestly a bit freaked- he'd never seen Marshall actually bleed before, even with all his crazy wipeouts and other stunts. "Zuma! Help, Marshall's bleeding!"

Now finally coordinated and not as sore, Zuma ran over, saw what Rubble was freaking out about, and winced- yep, Marshall's lip was definitely busted, and that looked pretty painful. The dazed dally looked up at his...well, at six of his friends- he was pretty sure there wasn't supposed to be three Zumas or three Rubbles. His eyes still spun around his aching skull as he tried to coordinate himself.

"H-heeeey guys, wh'ts happ'nn? Wo'lds… ooooohhh, h'ds spiinnnnin'." he mumbled, half his sentence a bit incoherent. Zuma and Rubble looked at one another, then up at the balcony where Ryder's room is.

"I guess we better go get him, huh?" Rubble was a bit upset- today was Ryder's only day off, and now he had to take care of Marshall! But he didn't know much about medical stuff, Zuma didn't know much either, and if he were completely honest, the blood was making him sick to his stomach. "But he's probably taking a nap or something- its his day off, can't we just-"

Rubble stopped. That blood... nope, nu uh. No way on earth was he coming close to dealing with that. Zuma could see Rubble was clearly nauseous and sighed sadly. _'Well, so much for a day off for Wyder… Wubble's not too good with the whole bleeding thing. We need Wyder! I think this is sewious.'_

Putting a paw on his friend's shoulder in what he hoped was support, Zuma smiled slightly and jerked his head towards the Lookout. "I got this, Wubble. Don't wowwy. Go get Wyder, and we'll tell him together, okay?"

Without another word, Rubble ran at his top speed towards the tower's elevator, leaving Zuma to try and guide his still dizzy friend back inside.

* * *

"Skye? Hello, are you there?"

Chase had finished his errand- briefly noticing Rocky pulling in for some reason but not stopping to ask why- and was heading back to the Lookout. As he drove, he remembered he was supposed to be checking in with Skye, who was still over at Ace's Flying Grounds.

"Hey, Chase! What's up?" Skye's cheerful voice came over, and the German Shepard sighed in relief- one less place to stop at. He pushed on his accelerator, turned his sirens on, and sped as fast as he could home.

"Nothing much, heading back to the Lookout with some medicine for Ryder. He asked me to check in on you."

Skye was a little worried at the word medicine- what would Ryder need that for? Maybe one of the pups got sick again... she shuddered at the thought. Last time was one nightmare she'd rather not deal with again. "Is everything alright? Someone or some pup sick?"

Chase could hear the worry and a small trace of fear in her voice, and knew why she would be scared. He was freaking out himself, but doing his best to remain calm until he got home. "I don't know." he answered honestly. "But Ryder's the one who asked for it, not one of us. To be honest, he... he hasn't been feeling too well lately."

Skye was relived to hear that none of the pups were down and out. But upon hearing Ryder's name, she thought back to a few times when she could tell her leader was not taking care of himself. He looked a little paler than normal- which was weird to her since he WAS pretty light skinned- and he always seemed sad or tired or a mix of both, it was really hard to tell when Ryder shook it off faster than she could see it and pretend he was fine.

"You know, you're right, Chase." Skye finally replied thoughtfully. "I've noticed it, too. I thought maybe it was just stress from being overworked, or maybe from a nightmare or something. I even tried asking him about it."

"Really? You did?" Chase was a bit surprised- Skye never seemed like the type to ask a question like that to Ryder. "What did he say?"

"Nothing, really... he keeps saying he's fine, that he's just tired and needs to lay off that video game he's always playing. But I... I wonder if..."

"If what?" Chase wondered. Finishing a loop de loop, Skye barely managed to land properly due to her newfound worry. Chase heard her and Ace talk for a few moments, Skye's delicate barks as she called out her wings, and a small beeping noise before her voice came back over. "I wonder if... if he forgets he's still just ten, not nineteen or twenty. He works so hard, harder than anyone else in this town."

"You know, I wonder that, too." Chase rubbed his left eye, which had begun to water- now was really not the time to be acting like a baby! "Skye, I have an idea. Crazy as I think it is, though."

"What?"

"I think we need to convince Ryder to take one more day off. Maybe two, even. We can handle rescues on our own- we've done it before, haven't we? He's trained us well enough to do it."

Skye hummed- it wasn't a bad idea, at least, to her. "We have, and Ryder said we worked like a real team, even without him. If he's not feeling well, then he needs to really rest and not worry too much. Besides, we trust you to be our leader too, Chase! So we'll be fine!"

Chase blushed a little- he was never used to others saying his leadership skills were any good, mostly because he believed it to be true. But this was a new matter entirely- Ryder needed THEM for a change. He'd have to tuck his insecurities away for now and step up to the plate!

 _'... but would I do a good job? This isn't just a small task- I'm going to have to lead the team and do everything Ryder would do! I'm really hoping he's not sick, because there's just no way-'_

"Alright. I'm getting close to Famer Yumi's place." Skye's voice brought the doubtful pup back to reality. He'd fret about that later. "What about you?"

"I'm heading over the bridge now." Chase answered as he made a left to cross it. He checked his right side- more importantly, the tiny package he needed to bring back to his closest friend. "I'll be home in about five minutes. I'll see you soon?"

"Yep! Oh, and Chase?"

"Yeah?"

"Try not to worry too much, okay?" Skye giggled. "It'll show and the others will see through you in a minute!"

Chase laughed a little as he turned his sirens off. Well, Skye was one of his best friends, so of course she could hear straight through his façade. "Alright, alright, I'll _try_ not to worry! I'm pulling up to the Lookout- see you later, Skye!"

* * *

"Oh, that is bad. Awww, Marshall, how on earth did you manage this one?"

Rubble had gotten Ryder, shaking like a leaf when he woke him from his nap. Even though Ryder had constantly reassured him he didn't do anything wrong, and that it was good he came and got him, the poor pup still felt bad for what he'd done to Marshall and now waking up Ryder for something they should have been able to handle. As soon as Ryder came down to the main lounge/kitchen area and saw Marshall, Rubble bolted for his pup house. He really couldn't stand the sight of blood, and now it ruined his appetite.

Zuma was with Ryder and Marshall as the young boy looked his dally pup over, a first aid kit next to him. His head was drumming something fierce, and his nose had began to irritate him, but he'd deal with it once Chase came back. For now, Ryder did his best to focus on the matter at hand and not let the pups see he was getting a little ill.

"It's definitely busted, but at least it won't need stitches." Ryder assured him as he cleaned the blood away from Marshall's lip. "It's swollen too, but you should be good to go soon. Just be careful, okay?"

Marshall nodded, wincing as Ryder finished with the alcohol- that stuff stings! "How are you holding up, Marshall?" Ryder checked again. He was unusually quiet- was there something else wrong? "You're quiet- did you hurt yourself anyplace else?"

Marshall struggled to open his eyes and focus on Ryder. "My head really hurts, Ryder..." he whimpered. "Can I go to sleep?"

Ryder didn't like the sound of that at all. _'Did he actually manage to get a concussion from Rubble's airborne trip? So much for a day off...'_ he thought tiredly to himself as he checked Marshall's eyes and pulse. That's when he saw it- a bruise forming on the back of his head. Ryder gently ran his fingertips over it, and when Marshall whimpered and let out a small whine, Ryder knew he had a long night ahead of him.

"Well, you have a pretty nasty bruise forming on this side of your head, and that lip is going to sting for a few days." Ryder put everything back in the first aid kit and smiled sadly at him. "Oh, Marshall... what am I going to do with you?"

"Wyder? Is he okay?" Zuma asked, unable to stand seeing either of them looking so sad. "Is it bad?"

Ryder pulled Zuma closer to him and shook his head. "Marshall's a little more beat up than I thought. But he'll be fine. However, until your head heals over, you're out of commission, Marshall. No work for you tomorrow. I'll-" Ryder winced as a sudden, sharp pain made its way through his head. He couldn't even try to hide that one- it was so painful! _'Where did that come from?!'_

Zuma watched with high concern- Marshall was defintily not the only one with a sore head. "W-Wyder…? Are you-?"

"I'm okay, Zuma. Just a small headache, that's all." Ryder tried to sound normal, but his voice was wavering a little. He patted Zuma on the head, ignoring any other remnants of pain pulsing through his skull for now. _'The pups need me. I'll be fine once Chase comes back with that aspirin I asked for. They all need me... I've gotta be fine!'_

"As I was saying, I'll see if I can get Katie to watch you, Marshall. If anything, we can substitute- everyone except for Rubble knows how to drive your firetruck."

"B-But... what about youuu?" Marshall whined, very much upset that he was going to drag the team down again- all because of his clumsiness. "You need a day off, too... 'supposed to... to have..."

Ryder chuckled lightly as Marshall's concern of sorts. His head plopped back on Ryder's lap, and he let out a low moan of pain at the movement. Zuma was still concerned, and it only grew worse as Ryder slowly made his way to stand and lay Marshall down.

"Marshall, that's an order. You are out of commission tomorrow or until Katie tells me you're fine. Understand?" Ryder firmly stated.

Marshall had no choice but to obey when Ryder took that tone of voice. That didn't mean he didn't feel terrible for what happened. _'What rotten luck- ooooohhhh, that bruise hurts! I wonder if Rubble is okay. He looked like he wanted to cry. Poor pup... I better- dang it, my lip stings!'_

Ryder got Marshall settled on a lounge pillow, and went to the kitchen to retrieve an ice pack. Marshall tiredly raised his paw at Zuma, letting him know he'd be fine in no time. Zuma rolled his eyes and returned the paw- five, a little less worried since Marshall was still being a little Marshall-y.

Once Ryder placed the ice pack- which was really just a small, tightly wrapped gauze with ice- over his bruise, he pulled a spare blanket over him and carefully patted his head before standing. Zuma tilted his head- was it just him, or did Ryder almost... fall down?

"Come on, Zuma. We'll get dinner set up and check on Marshall in a few. Chase should-" Ryder paused, his stomach turning at the mention of the word 'dinner'. "Chase should be home soon... I hope..." he said the last part almost to himself. Zuma kept his observation to himself as he glanced once last time over at Marshall before following Ryder to the kitchen.

 _'Something is wwong with Wyder. He doesn't look like himself, and I know I saw him almost fall over! I wonder if he's getting sick or something. Or maybe those wescues took mowe out of him than anyone thought...'_ Zuma hypostasized. For now, it was all he could do.

As the duo headed to set up dinner, Chase pulled up and parked in his usual spot. Right as he hopped out, Skye arrived, yipping loudly to announce she was home. Both pups walked in and immeditely saw Marshall with gauze on his head, asleep on their left. They shared a look of 'what the heck just happened?', before Ryder poked his head from the kitchen.

"Oh, hey Chase, Skye. Just in time- listen, Marshall had an accident and he's pretty banged up right now, so be careful. Go get changed and come eat, and then we can watch Apallo or a movie or something, alright?" Ryder explained. "Oh, and Chase? Could you put that bag in my room?"

The two pups didn't know what to do except what was told, so they headed to the changing room to get out of their gear and pup packs. Chase dropped off the small bag in Ryder's room, and as he turned to head out, noticed a small, circular wrapper on the ground near his bed. He sniffed in- it smelled like cherry but bitter- and then it hit him.

"Aren't these cough drops...? I didn't know he had these. Ryder, sir... you're really not feeling well." Chase mumbled sadly to himself as he excited, not wanting to take too long lest Ryder came to look for him.

"Why are you being so... so stubborn? That's it! Ryder, you need a few days off- besides, he can't drive or lead or do much of anything if he's taking whatever medicine that is."

Suddenly feeling confident he had a way to keep Ryder from rescues or any form of work tomorrow, Chase happily hurried to eat and relax with his friends. "Perfect! Even he can't argue with me on this one!"

Shortly after everyone went inside, Rocky finally pulled up and parked his garbage truck in its usual spot. He hopped out, annoyed that he had to take such a LONG bath, and tried to shake the leftover water off his fur. "Ewwww! Yuck, there's that smell I hate! The shampoo smelled nice and all, but come ON! It was cold and gross and don't get me STARTED on that water! I really, REALLY need to start wearing protective gear going to the dump!" he babbled to no one in particular. He quickly tossed off his hat, vest and pup pack- eventually he'd get around to putting that in the changing room.

"Looks like everyone's home. That means I'm just in time for dinner! I'm starving!" Howling in happiness at the thought of food to kick out the shuddering sadness of having to take a bath that horrifically long, Rocky ran inside.

He was met by Ryder changing something on Marshall's head, Zuma, Skye and Chase eating, and Rubble no where in sight. "Uhhhh… did I miss the party?" Rocky asked slowly, completely puzzled. "What's happening?"

Ryder motioned for Rocky to go and eat. Zuma nudged him and whispered, "We'll tell you later."

Rocky nodded, still perplexed by everyone's behavior. ' _Uhhhh, is it just me orrr is everyone a bit... off? Chase looks way too happy just for some puppy food, and Skye and Zuma look like someone just got robbed or hurt- well, besides Marshall. Silly dally... I wonder how that happened this time. And Rubble not being here is definitely a bad sign- that pup NEVER turns down dinner! Or food, for that matter!'_

Rocky peered up from his bowl and noticed Ryder once again rubbing his temples and slowly sipping at a cup of something cold as he sat near Marshall. His eyes looked tired, and Rocky wondered what he was looking at- or if he knew he was out of it. ' _Man,_ _Ryder looks... bad. Well, he looks exhausted, obviously, but its worse. Maybe he was fixing his ATV again, even though its supposed to be his day off. He's a great leader, but he's sooooo stubborn!'_

* * *

 **And done! It's a slow start, but it's getting there, don't worry. I've got the next chapter already in the works.**

 **In any case, please let me know what you think. I greatly apricate you all!**

 **Until next chapter!**


	4. Alarm

**Hello all! Before I begin, I'd just like to offer a quick thank you to one of my ever growing favorite writers, PyreFly77 for correcting me on Rubble's breed- I've been going around calling him a French Bulldog, when he's actually an English Bulldog. I'm shaking my head at how I've made such an error even after all the reading I've done online and through fanfiction.**

 **Anyways, thank you again! And with that, please enjoy!**

* * *

 **Caretaker**

 **Chapter 4-Alarm**

In all his years of living and working, Ryder could honestly say he'd never felt so tired as he did right this moment.

He'd spent a good fifteen minutes trying to convince poor Rubble to come inside and eat dinner. The English Bullpup had been visibly upset and a bit nauseous at the sight of blood, but once Ryder told him what was going on, Rubble shed a few tears and Ryder and him hugged it out, Rubble felt much better- and quite hungry to boot! It didn't take long after that to get him inside to enjoy dinner with the others.

That was over three hours ago. Marshall would be fine- he didn't appear to have a concussion, just a sore head and lip. Ryder was so thankful, because he was struggling to keep his eyes open. Chase had volunteered to watch over Marshall so he could sleep, and Ryder could only offer a pat of appreciation as he dragged his sleepy and sore body to his room. He had allowed the pups to stay up for a few hours to watch the Apollo the SuperPup movie, but warned them not to stay up too late and to wake him if something was needed.

The way Chase eyed him told Ryder they were going to do everything in their power NOT to wake him. Still, Ryder was the leader, and no matter how sore his head was, he needed to be ready and available.

Kicking his slippers to the side, Ryder sighed in relief- thank goodness Chase managed to get that medicine. "Chase really is such a good pup." he mumbled in relief. Shaking out the contents, Ryder noticed a piece of paper folded and taped to the front of it.

"Huh, Katie left a note? I wonder why... sheesh, I can read a box." Ryder quickly skimmed it.

 _'Hey Ryder,_

 _I hope you're doing okay. Probably not, if poor Chase had to run in here and ask for this. He looked kind of spooked. Anyway, I can't give you aspirin since you're still like, ten? So I gave you some Children's Tylenol I accidently bought a few days ago. It's safe but it might make you kind of drowsy. It's also supposed to help you fight cold or flu, so I hope it does you some good!_

 _See you soon,_

 _Katie_

 _Oh, and PS, even though I know you know this- please don't drive your ATV tomorrow, 'kay? If you need to rest, you really should.'_

Ryder scoffed lightly and shook his head. Leave it to Katie to care that much- and give him a warning. "Thanks, Katie. But I've got be ready in case of anything... they'll need me..."

 _'He did look kind of spooked.'_ Ryder re-read that line and felt a little sad- he didn't realize he was making Chase worry. "Even though I had a feeling he _would_ worry... ah, Chase..." No doubt that overthinker would notice something was up, and maybe even tell one of the others as well.

"I'll have to just show them I'll be fine once I sleep it off. No problem."

Ryder shook the contents and examined it with a look of disgust- he really hated taking medicine, especially liquid medicine. It was always so... gross tasting. But he knew he needed to be up tomorrow, no matter what. Letting that be his motivator, he slowly measured the correct amount, pinched his nose and chugged it down. Almost instantly he gagged and nearly threw up- that did _NOT_ taste like grape at all!

After he managed it down, he set his Pup Pad on the charger and climbed into bed, warm and snuggly and ready to drift off to DreamLand-

"Uhh… R-Ryder, sir? A-Are you up? Can I talk to you?" Ryder opened one eye, thinking he'd just heard something, but nothing but silence greeted him. Shrugging, he laid back down to go to try to sleep, when he heard a knock. Then another. Then a third, louder one.

"R-Ryder? Are you asleep?" a loud yet hushed voice asked. Ryder squinted at his room door as he slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes. Okay, maybe not hitting the hay just yet... and was that Chase?

"Y-Yeah, come on in." he yawned. His door slid open, and Ryder couldn't help a sleepy smile as his police pup walked in the room, worry clear as day on his face. He patted the empty space next to him, letting out another long yawn.

"E-Everything alright, Chase?" Ryder asked drowsily. He was amazed- when was the last time he'd taken medicine? _'Man, that stuff kicks in pretty fast! My body feels drowsy already... d-definitely should... be good to go in the *yawwwwwn* morning...'_

"I-I'm sorry, were you sleeping?" Chase suddenly asked as he turned around, already looking to run out of the room. "I-I can talk to you in the morn-"

Ryder laughed gently and scratched behind Chase's ear, effectively quieting him. He pulled him closer, letting Chase curl against his chest, and Ryder settled against his headboard. Something was bothering one of his own, and regardless of how sleepy he was, he wouldn't be able to sleep until he knew what it was.

"Talk to me, Chase." Ryder began. "W-What's the matter?"

Chase let out a small whimper and pressed his cheek closer to Ryder's chest. It rose and fell in a steady rhythm, which would normally comfort him in an instant, but in this case it didn't do anything to quell his worry. "A-Are you... sure you're alright?" Chase finally spoke. He looked up at his handler, seeing the medicine pulling him into sleep, and guilt stung him hard. _'Ryder needs to rest. So why did I come in here to bother him? I can't make him worry about me- if he has a headache, I'll make it worse!'_

Ryder let out a long yawn and closed his eyes, his hand stroking Chase's back without even realizing it. "...uhmm hmm... b-be okay in... the morning..." he mumbled. Chase frowned- Ryder would be completely out in a few seconds, and he didn't even tell him about the request to take a few more days off.

' _Ryder... you're not okay. You don't feel too good- you feel like you're starting to burn up.'_ Not wanting to move and accidently wake Ryder, but still concerned about his condition, Chase decided to stay in his arms for the night and monitor him. He felt a little less worried at that plan- at least someone would be with him, and he could call the others if anything weird happened.

 _'What if he IS sick? What if I really have to... become a leader? I'm not ready to take that on!'_ Chase took another glance at Ryder, the worry turning into concern for both Ryder and his friends. He was pretty sure he wasn't getting a lot of sleep tonight, not with all the worry on his mind right now.

As soon as Marshall woke up in the morning, Ryder was getting checked. No ifs, ands or buts. _'This should be fun... Ryder's just as stubborn as I can be. Getting him to let Marshall look him over, that's going to be something else.'_

* * *

The sun filtered through Ryder's bedroom curtains, waking Chase up. He opened his eyes and looked around, a little confused as to why he was in his leader's room, until he remembered last night. Yawning, he stretched and glanced at Ryder.

He definitely didn't look too good. He looked like he was in pain, and he sounded strange as he slept. Chase reached out, his paw hovered over his face, but sighed in defeat.

"Isn't this what he needed? To sleep and get better? Besides, he should have taken whatever that stuff was last night. He can't drive anything today, so he should just sleep. But... he doesn't look too good... maybe I should have Marshall come and check on him?"

Then he remembered- Marshall managed to hurt himself yesterday, too. Chase rolled his eyes. _'That silly dally can't go one day without hurting himself! Well, better check on him first, and if he's okay, then he can come check on Ryder.'_

Chase was relieved- even though he didn't directly ask Ryder to take today off, he may as well take what he could get. He checked the clock- it was nearing nine, but for once, he didn't care it was later than normal. Ryder needed rest, end of story.

"Sleep well, Ryder, sir." Chase whispered to the somewhat slumbering boy. He quickly licked his cheek and hopped as quietly and carefully off the bed as he could. Exiting the room, a plan in mind and hope that things would turn out okay in his heart, he made his way to the lounge. Upon his entry, he noticed that Marshall was still asleep, and Zuma was just waking up.

"Morning, Zuma." Zuma yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"H-Hey, mownin', Chase. What time is it..." he wondered. "Feels like I've been sleeping fowever…"

"Almost nine." Chase chuckled and looked at Marshall. The Dalmatian was sleeping away, his bruise healing over well. He was making cute sounds in his sleep as he dreamt about who knew what this time.

"He's still asleep? Must've found something stronger than that hard head of his, huh?" he lightly joked as he tugged his blanket over him. Zuma yawned again and stretched a little.

"Yeah, but he's going to be fine. Wyder said so, and he was with him for two houws last night." Zuma said. Chase arched an eyebrow- he had no idea Ryder was up so long with Marshall, and with the way he was rubbing his forehead all day...

"Really? Wow... poor Ryder. I mean, poor Marshall, too, but Ryder..."

The chocolate lab nodded as he shook off the last of his sleepiness. "I know what you mean. Wyder didn't look too hot last night. I'm actually suwprised he let us watch him- he looked like he wanted to stay up all night." Zuma frowned as he stared down at Marshall. "I hope evewything's okay with him. But I'm glad Mawshall's gonna be alwight."

"Me, too." Chase muttered under his breath, that weird feeling of dread staring to creep up in his chest. He hoped Zuma didn't hear him or notice his behavior, because he didn't want to deal with questions he had no answers for right now. _'Because if he is sick, I... I really have to step up as a leader. It's going to happen. But... what if I make a mistake? T_ _here's no way I can handle that...'_

Changing the subject, Chase asked, "Is anyone else up yet?"

"Dunno. I just woke up, maybe Skye and Wubble and Wocky are still asleep?" Zuma paused, then added, "Well, Wocky might be up. He's always doing something in his pup house. You wanna go check?"

Taking one last look at Marshall, Chase nodded. He needed a distracting from that dread that was bubbling inside of him- anything would help at this point. "Yeah... yeah, let's go do that. Marshall should be fine on his own- he's still out like a light."

As the duo ran out, they crashed into Rocky, who was on his way inside to see if anyone was awake yet- he wasn't used to the silence this late in the morning. Glancing down at his two new pup pillows, Rocky grinned. "Well, at least I know some-pup is awake!"

"And it wasn't even Mawshall who caused this crash!" Zuma laughed from underneath. The other two looked at each other before joining in the laughter. Within seconds, they were free and shaking themselves to make sure all pieces were in place.

"Yeah, we're up. Morning, by the way." Chase said before peering behind Rocky, at Skye's pup house. "Is Skye still-"

Before he could finish, their pup tags went off. Chase felt his heart drop to his stomach- no way they could be having a rescue, not without their leader! And he was still asleep and not feeling well and-

"H-Hey pups? *yawn* W-where is everyone?" Marshall's sleepy voice came over. "We playin' a game?"

Almost instantly, Chase deflated, relieved- it was only Marshall. _'That was close! I almost thought we had a rescue! Really not the best time... I wonder if Ryder heard anything on his Pup Pad...'_

"Morning to you, Marshall!" Rocky laughed. "We're coming inside in a sec, okay?"

"Mee'in? O-Ok'y, wake me... you.. kay..." Marshall mumbled as he fell back to sleep. As Rocky ended the call, he glanced up and saw it- a fleeting second, but he saw it.

Chase didn't look like his normal self. He looked worried, very worried. But he didn't have to wait long to find out why.

"Um, Rocky? Zuma?"

"Yeah?"

Chase sighed heavily and shook his head. There was no Ryder here to explain himself. It was leaving him with no choice, and he had very little faith in his leadership abilities. Or himself in general. "We, uh... we need to have a talk. Could you get Skye and Rubble and meet me in the lounge?"

Both pups shared a glance- Chase definitely didn't sound like himself. _'No doubt it's about Ryder. Maybe he'll shed some light on what's happening with him.'_ Rocky thought to himself as he went to wake Rubble. _'If he is sick, then Chase shouldn't be so worried. We've done this without Ryder before, so I know we can do this again! I hope Ryder's alright, but Chase... he looks like there's a lot more bothering him than just Ryder being sick.'_

Once all the pups were in the lounge, and Marshall was given a brief once over by Chase, the meeting began. "Okay, pups. I don't know if you've noticed, but Ryder isn't feeling too well. He's been pushing himself way harder than he needed to." Chase began. Skye, Zuma and Rocky nodded in agreement. Marshall was slowly following along as his sleepy brain tried to wake up, and Rubble looked around, the only pup utterly confused.

"He's not? But he said he was fine yesterday!" he said, tilting his head. "Why would he lie about something that serious?"

"To keep Adventure Bay safe. It's not exactly a lie, but he's working harder than any of us. He probably hadn't noticed he was getting a bit under the weather until yesterday." Chase explained.

Rubble nodded slowly as the information sunk in. Then a wave of realization hit him, and he gasped. "Ryder's really sick?!"

"Well, that's the problem. We don't really know. He isn't too sure himelf. But if he is..." Chase trailed off, the sheer thought of having to act as temporary leader once again scaring the daylights out of him and for good reason- as far as he was concerned, anyway. He glanced at the other pups, who were waiting for him. Swallowing his insecurities once again, he weakly finished, "I-I'd have... to take over as l-leader until he gets better..."

Skye and a more alert Marshall shot a glance at each other. They knew that look and knew that tone of voice- Chase was having doubts again. Both pups made a mental note to have a private talk with him later on.

"A-Anyway, that aside, Ryder did take something to help him, so maybe he'll be okay when he wakes up!" Chase hurriedly assured them, waving his paw around nervously. As he lowered it, he added, "At least, I hope so..."

"So what should we do now, Chase?" Rubble asked. "It's getting pretty late and Ryder's still sleeping! He missed breakfast!" As if on cue, his stomach growled loudly and he rubbed it to emphasize his point. "Shoot, I'm starving now!"

"You'we ALWAYS hungwy, dude!" Zuma laughed.

As the others laughed and carried on about Rubble's infinite stomach, Chase walked off to think about everything. On one hand, he knew that Rubble had a point- it was getting close to ten, and Ryder would need to eat and drink something soon, especially if he wasn't feeling well. On the other hand, if a rescue was to occur, they would have to at least notify him of what was going on, and he would insist on coming along. The police pup was at an impasse.

As he thought more on the problem, the pups' tags went off. Chase felt his heart stop as he heard the voice come over.

"P-PAW Patrol *cough, cough* to the L-Lookout!" Chase winced- Ryder sounded even worse than yesterday! He hovered over his pup tag, wanting to at least beg Ryder to sit whatever rescue this was out, but Ryder was leader and he would not hesitate to use his status to get his way.

 _'Ryder... why can't you just take another day off?'_ Chase thought angrily, growing frustrated and a little scared, if he were honest. _'I can't take your place, I barely did a good job when we had to rescue YOU! You're making things worse!'_

Chase bit his lip- well, it's Adventure Bay. They really couldn't function without them for one day, could they? _'Of course not. Seriously, how did this city manage before Ryder came along?!'_ Sighing in annoyance, he waited for the other pups. One by one, Skye, Zuma, Rubble and Rocky filtered in. Marshall came in last as usual, but except for a trip over his paws, he didn't complete a famous wipeout, his lip still a bit troublesome for him.

"What, no wipeout today, Marshall?" Skye asked playfully. Marshall grinned, showing his still healing lip, before he ran his tongue over it. "This thing is- yeouch!- still a pain! My head needs a break for once!" he laughed. It helped to lighten the mood for the pups a little.

"Pups, you heard it too. Right?" Rocky asked as the elevator rose up to the changing room. "Ryder sounds pretty stuffy. Marshall-"

"I've got my EMT gear just for him. Don't worry, guys. If Ryder's sick, he's getting some rest." Marshall clapped Chase on the shoulder as he lightly trotted to the elevator. "Besides, we have you to lead us, Chase! So I'm not worried one bit, and I bet you Ryder isn't, either!"

Chase didn't feel even a frication of the confidence his best friend did. He barely managed a nod as he got his gear on, the fear, worry and nervousness pooling into a ball in his gut. "Y-Yeah... I guess so..." he mumbled to himself. _'Ryder... what would you do? Why can't I be brave like you are?'_

Without another word, the pups headed up for the mission room. As they leapt out of the elevator into usual order, Chase definitely noticed it- Ryder looked worse than yesterday. He heard small gasps on both sides as the other pups took in his appearance.

The poor kid was practically sagging and trying to support himself on the monitor. He was holding a few tissues and his eyes looked a bit red, but not swollen. His ears picked up a scratchy sound each time Ryder inhaled and exhaled.

"R-Ryder...?" Marshall whispered. _'He's gotten really sick! Maybe he should sit this one out! No, he HAS to sit this one out!'_

Chase cleared his throat, trying to keep everything somewhat professional, despite a screaming voice in his head telling him to force Ryder to go back to bed. "P-PAW Patrol ready for action, Ryder, sir."

Ryder felt terrible, and there was no hiding it. He was expecting the medicine to at least get rid of the headache, but all it did was dull it down to a light throb. When he actually remembered he needed to wake up and feed his pups, he tried his best to put on his game face and force himself to get through this one day, just this one. But his body was done, and he could feel it.

Weak and stuffy, Ryder had stumbled to the bathroom to wash his face, but his body was so weak doing simple things like lifting water to his face, brushing his teeth and plain standing up was almost a chore in of itself. He groaned and opted to taking more of the medicine, but he was concerned about anyone who might 'yelp for help'.

Despite it, he stumbled back to his room, took more of the medicine, and sat there until his Pup Pad went off- a call from Farmer Yumi. She had been working on repairing her roof when her leg fell through and got stuck, leaving her with no choice but to call the PAW Patrol for help.

Ryder assured her that 'no job was too big, no pup was too small', but Farmer Yumi noticed the stuffiness behind the normally calm and confident young leader, as well as his red eyes and nose. She tried to convince Ryder not to overdo it, that she could try and call someone else to help her. Even so, Ryder had been determined to see the job through, which lead him to his current situation.

 _'Frankly, if you could have called someone else, you would have, Farmer Yumi.'_ Ryder thought miserably as he tried to look presentably for his pups. It failed miserably, because two of his pups could see right though him.

"We haa… aaa… A-CHOO!" Ryder sneezed and let out a groan- that sneeze seriously hurt! His chest was burning! He blew his nose, and when he saw droplets of blood mixed in with the mucus, he quickly chuckled the tissue away before any of the pups could see it.

"We... have a s-situation, pups." he managed to say before he was cut off by a cough. Chase stepped forward, his body steeled for an argument. "With all due respect, sir. You don't look good at all, and you just took something last night. Perhaps you can sit this one out?"

Ryder shook his head, regretting that as a headache came on almost instantly, this time the throbbing beginning to pulse behind his eyes. He pressed his palms to them and shook it all off, offering the calmest, confident smile he could. "I-I apricate your concern, Chase. But I-I'm fine. Don't worry. Right now-"

Ryder coughed again and gripped the side of the monitor screen to hold himself up. Yeah, this was getting pretty bad. _'G-Guess this medicine takes longer to kick in when you're already sick...'_ Ryder thought to himself. Marshall stepped forward, barking out his thermometer, firmness set in his eyes as he walked towards Ryder.

"Ryder, could you let me take a look at you? You're really getting sick!"

Ryder waved him back and stood up straight. He couldn't rest. Not until Yumi was safe and sound. That was important, not some stupid cold! "N-Not right now, Marshall!" he snapped, a bit more irritable than he wanted. Marshall whimpered, his ears sagging as he stepped back. Ryder sighed and patted Marshall on the head.

"I'm sorry, Marshall. I didn't mean to sound like that." He coughed, then added, "But not right now, understand? Farmer Yumi needs our help more- she's stuck atop her farmhouse and we need to get to her before she falls through."

Marshall was still looking at him with that worry, and so was Chase and the others. Ryder smiled a little and stood up, allowing Marshall to return to his spot. "I'll rest once we're done with this rescue, pups. Promise."

Marshall whimpered again and looked at Chase, who seemed just as defeated. It was out of their paws now, but that didn't mean they wouldn't keep a close eye on their leader.

Ryder handed out the orders- Marshall was to check on Yumi once they got her down safely, Skye was to use her harness to get Yumi down, Chase was to provide backup in case something went wrong, and Rocky was to fix the hole in the roof.

As the pups slid down to their vehicles and pulled around front, Chase was mortified when he saw Ryder on his ATV, helmet on and everything. He pulled off ahead of them, while Marshall, Rocky and Skye looked on, the same concerned look across their faces.

"C-Chase?" Rocky asked shakily over their pup tags. "You said that Ryder took some medicine? Should he be driving?"

"To be honest, no. But he's so worried about Famer Yumi, I... I don't think there's anything we can do." Chase pulled off, Marshall and Rocky following behind and Skye in the air.

"Marshall. Rocky. Skye. We need to keep a close, close eye on Ryder. Once this mission ends, he's going to rest and that's that!" Chase ordered firmly. The pups nodded.

Skye, however, was worried about one thing. _'Chase, what's really eating at you? I've never heard him sound so scared before... I wonder what's really going on? Ryder just has a cold, right?'_

* * *

When they arrived on the scene, Beatina was mooing up a storm at the sight of her handler stuck on the roof. The other animals were sharing in her worry, even with Farmer Yumi trying her best to assuage them. Once the sounds of engines and sirens came up the road, Yumi let out a sigh of relief and waved her arms around to signal her location.

"D-Don't worry, Farmer Yumi." Ryder slowly got off his ATV and gave his spinning head a chance to re-calibrate. He coughed- the dust that was stirred up wasn't helping any. "The PAW Patrol is here to help!"

"Ryder! You drove all the way here? In your condition?" Yumi yelled from the roof. Ryder deadpanned. _'I know I'm not too well, and how else was I getting to you?! Flying wouldn't be a great idea!'_ he thought irritably as he assessed the area. That quickly disappeared and he felt bad for being so snippy to people- and pups- who were just worried about him.

"Don't w-worry! I'm fine!" Ryder tried to yell but his voice was growing worse. He gave her a thumbs up instead and jogged over to the roof. There was some hay that could be used as padding, and Ryder sighed in relief. _'This should be an e-easy...'_

As he neared the hay, Ryder started coughing, but this felt different. He felt like he couldn't take too much of a breath without coughing up a lung. His head was pulsating something fierce, and he doubled over in pain. Chase and Marshall hopped out of their trucks and bolted for the farm when they heard Ryder's coughing.

"Ryder?! Ryder!" Chase screamed. His eyes couldn't believe what he was seeing, and neither could Marshall.

Ryder was on his knees, one hand gripping his jacket as he continued coughing. He struggled to take a breath, but it felt like his throat was closing up on him. Without thinking, Chase rushed over and tried to get Ryder away from the hay and into fresh air. For a few steps, Ryder was able to keep up, although he was staggering.

"Marshall, get your stretcher, fast!" Chase yelled. "Hurry!"

Marshall's paws trembled as he opened his ambulance doors. He bit his lip, ignoring the stinging sensation of the injured area, and helped Chase lead Ryder closer to the ambulance. _'Its okay, Marshall. Calm down. Calm down and don't start crying!'_ he told himself. _'Ryder comes first. Help him first...'_

"Rocky! Skye! Help Farmer Yumi!" Chase yelled loudly. Skye nodded- she knew what she had to do, but that did not ease the fear in her chest as she watched Ryder stumble to the stretcher. Rocky nodded and quickly moved closer to the farm to provide support to Skye. He dove into the back of his truck to find something soft to use as a net if needed, wiping his eyes as he forced himself to focus on the rescue at hand.

Ryder was swaying on his feet as he neared the ambulance. He noticed his vision faltering in and out a few times before he collapsed on the ground, his legs too weak to keep walking. He was panting heavily and trying to focus on a spot on the ground, his stomach flipping in circles.

"C-Chase... I... don't feel good..." Ryder rasped out. The coughing really did a number on him, he had to force himself to admit. Well, so did forcing himself to work when sick, too. "H-Head... and chest... hurts..."

Chase, for once in his young life, was unsure of what to do. He stared at his ailing leader, his heart close to bursting out of his chest. _'What do I do? I- I don't know what to do! Farmer Yumi needs our help and Ryder needs to go home and- and I... I don't...'_

It was overwhelming. It was scary. And Chase was certain Ryder made a mistake when he appointed him second in command. He was not ready for this, none of it.

"Chase?" He snapped out of his spinning mind and glanced up, seeing Farmer Yumi safe and sound next to him. She looked worried as well, but also seemed far more collected than he felt inside and out.

"What do you want me to do to help?"

* * *

 **And done! It's about time I moved this little project along, eh? Being sick like that sucks terribly, especially when you have to choose between health and duty. It can't be any easier for a child in Ryder's position.**

 **Please leave your thoughts and reviews and let me know what you think!**

 **Until next chapter!**


	5. Doubt

**Hello all! Sorry for the delay- this chapter was a bit harder than I originally planned in terms of getting it written the way I wanted it.**

 **With that, please enjoy! Spinmaster owns all but the idea.**

* * *

 **Caretaker**

 **Chapter 5- Doubt**

"What do you need me to do to help?" Chase didn't reply- in fact, he didn't hear anyone around him. His throat felt tight as he tried to breathe and get a grip on his anxiety.

It wasn't like Ryder was dying! He was just sick, sicker than he thought, and he needed to get the pups and him home to get him looked at, and they would definitely need to get help and there was the entire town, Ryder was going to be out of commission and Adventure Bay still needed to be saved and-

"Chase? You alright?" It was when he felt Yumi's hands on either side of his face as she cupped his cheeks, smelled her breath as she leaned close to him, that he snapped out of his trance. He looked at her, complete worry and a little fear in his eyes.

"...Y-Yumi?" She nodded, smiling sadly. Chase could see she was just as concerned for their leader, too.

"Chase, listen. Ryder's in the ambulance." She jerked her head in that direction. "And thank you all for rescuing me. Now tell me, what do you need me to do?"

Chase didn't know what he needed her to do- heck, _he_ barely knew what he needed to do, if he were being honest. The memories of... _that_ incident were threatening to push through the forefront, but just like before, Chase fought it back. Now was just not the time.

 _'Ryder's just sick, Chase. It's not like before. This time, right now... you can help him. Get your head in the game and focus! You've got to give out orders!'_

His eyes slowly moved to Ryder's ATV, still parked next to Marshall's ambulance. The other pups were scared as they stood by, waiting for Chase's orders. Marshall was staying with Ryder, and Chase could see the others trying not to look at him each time he coughed or sneezed.

Ryder. He was sick. Really sick. He needed him. He needed him to be a leader and take charge. They needed him to take charge. It was just a simple cold, it wasn't like Ryder was stuck someplace hurt and-

Shaking his head clear of that particular train of thought, Chase put on the bravest, most authoritative face he could. "Thank you, Farmer Yumi. Could you help us get Ryder's ATV home?" Yumi nodded and ran past the pups, heading for Farmer Al's pickup truck.

"Rocky, can you help her get Ryder's ATV attached to her truck? We'll pull it back to the Lookout." Rocky nodded yes, biting down on his bottom lip as he ran for his garbage truck. Chase could see the confusion and a little anger in his eyes and realized he'd have to talk to the others back home- Zuma and Rubble. Then there was Marshall- he was shaking and about to burst at the seams, and Skye was not doing a good job hiding her own concerns about Ryder.

Marshall had successfully covered Ryder with a spare blanket he kept in his ambulance, and was trying to figure out ways to make him comfortable until they reached the Lookout. Ryder was still semi-conscious, but his body felt like he was on fire. Every inch of clothing that touched his bare skin felt like intense heat, and he wanted so badly to tear it all off. He blearily glanced at Marshall, who was trying to remain as professional as he could.

"Ma... rshall…" he rasped out. Yeah, his throat was killing him and now his voice was almost shot. Great. _'Jeez, this cold got bad fast! I don't get how, I barely did anything to save Yumi! Oooooohhh, there's that headache again... oh man, my head... my whole body hurts...'_

Marshall quickly scrubbed his tears and turned around, offering Ryder a small, yet trembling smile. "I-It's going to be o-okay, Ryder." he assured as calmly as he could manage. He nuzzled Ryder's cheek, feeling worried as he realized Ryder had started to develop a fever, and scolded himself for getting hurt yesterday.

"It's okay. C-Chase has it all u-under control. We-We're going... going home soon, okay?"

Ryder felt terrible as he watched Marshall inch closer to the water works. He wanted to hug him, promise him that it was nothing more than a simple cold his body was trying to fight off, but he could barely manage lifting his head, let alone his whole body.

"Y-Yumi...?" Ryder tried to speak but it felt almost impossible with the way his throat was killing him. Marshall nodded.

"Safe and sound. Rocky and Skye got her down and she's fine. Don't worry, Ryder." Marshall didn't like that fever- while he didn't have time to check it properly, he could tell off the bat something was wrong- Ryder was almost a furnace and all he'd done was get him in the ambulance! And then there was the coughing and occasional sneeze that seemed to take a lot out of him...

"R-Ryder, you... you're b-burning up..." Marshall whispered. "You need to get home now..."

Ryder shook his head lightly and lowered his hand to cup Marshall's cheek. "I-It's going... to be okay. U-Understand?"

Marshall bit down on his injured lip, his eyes filling with tears as _that_ day came back to mind. He nodded quietly and pulled a blanket over Ryder. _'Y-You said that same thing to me that day, too. That you were fine, that you just needed to take a walk and get some air! You're so stubborn, Ryder! You're not fine, and this can't just be a cold- you're SICK!'_

Ryder could barely keep his eyes open- his head was drumming to the point he felt it would literally explode. He closed his eyes, taking slow, deep breaths to distract him from the churning, nauseous feeling in his stomach and the body pain he was in. After a few breaths, he felt sleepy and decided to take the opportunity to actually rest for once.

Marshall noticed Ryder's pinched expression and watched as it smoothed out. He couldn't wait any longer- whatever was going on with Yumi needed to wait. He did one last quick check to make sure the ride home would be smooth for Ryder, licked his cheek and whispered 'rest easy' in his ear, then hopped out the ambulance and shut the doors.

"Pups, Yumi, we need to go NOW! Ryder's starting to get a pretty bad fever and I think this is serious!" Marshall exclaimed, not having time to explain. Chase nodded, and once Yumi and Rocky secured Ryder's ATV to the back of her pickup, everyone burned rubber as they raced back to the Lookout.

* * *

The ride back to the Lookout was solemn but fast- not one pup stopped for any reason, not even to say hi to the citizens as they normally would do. Even Yumi paid no heed to any speed limits as she followed Chase and the others, calling Farmer Al to notify him of the situation.

Marshall was razor focused, being as fast as he could while also minding the valuable, sick patient in the back of his ambulance as he took point. He didn't let his eyes leave the road, and when he felt his emotions threatening to rise up, he bit down hard on his injured lip. It hurt like mad, but it kept him focused enough.

Now was just not the time for tears. He knew he needed to have a clear mind to get Ryder home, in bed and checked out. _'I'm pretty sure I'm going to end up crying sooner or later, though... just hang on, Ryder. We'll be home in no time!'_

Rocky was also quiet, his eyes narrowed as he followed behind Chase, his brain running a mile a minute. He was grateful for the distraction, otherwise he felt he would yell until he couldn't anymore. _'How could this have happened?! I mean, we SAW how he looked this morning! He was one step away from fainting! Maybe he was like that yesterday, too. And I wasted all that time at a stupid dump when I could've been trying to help Ryder around the Lookout!'_

Rocky growled under his breath. Ryder never tried to show weakness around them and he knew that- he wanted to prove that he was strong enough for himself and all of them, that he would be by their side like he promised. But...

 _'He's been rescuing and helping and caring about every single stupid person in this stupid city and not ONCE did he care to look after himself! Ryder, you... you stupid, stupid jerk! Why didn't you look after yourself?! Why are you putting us through all this, scaring us all half to death?! Why... why didn't you trust us to help you...'_

Rocky wiped his eyes with his paw and pushed down on the gas. "You j-jerk... R-Ryder, you... you better get well soon..." he whispered to himself. "Just trust us to take care of _you._.. for once."

Skye was wiping her cheeks every other second as he flew overhead, unable to begin to sort her emotions out. On one hand, the logical side of her scolded her for being a crybaby- Ryder was still ten and he simply caught a cold from touching so many germs from so many people! It was bound to happen, perhaps his body just couldn't handle it and he was fighting it off. It could have just been a really strange side effect and he would be just fine.

But the other part of her knew something more serious was going on. Even if Ryder did have just a cold, he shouldn't be coughing and wheezing and sneezing like he was, and didn't Marshall say he was staring to get a fever, too? He looked like he was one step closer to death!

"I don't know... maybe this is really just a bad, bad cold." she tried to reassure herself. "That's all it is. He was going to get one sooner or later. Ryder will be fine, I know it! He's the strongest and bravest child I know!"

She then glanced down at the flashing blue truck, more worry knowing at her gut as she tried to imagine what her best friend must have on his mind. _'I know you, Chase. I know you must be so worried and scared for Ryder. He's putting on a front, just like last time, but he's going to crack sooner or later. But honestly, Chase... I'm worried about you...'_

Chase was quiet as well, closely following Marshall. He felt as if he was having some weird out of body experience, like someone else was driving his truck and giving orders and trying to figure out what to do next.

One thing was for sure- he could not for the life of him stop overthinking. He wasn't even sure if he was making a small issue a big deal, but something was wrong. He felt it deep in his heart. Something was very wrong.

Ryder was sick, yes. It was pretty clear to him that he'd been sick for a while, maybe when the non stop rescuing began. But if that were the case, Chase wondered, why didn't Ryder mention how he'd been feeling whenever he asked him? Why did he keep pushing and pushing to get these rescues done, even if it meant lack of sleep for him?

 _'Ryder must've known something was coming down. He must've known that he needed to take it easy, but he was so worried about us and the town and the beach that he just didn't! Especially us... lately, it was like he never wanted to leave our side, not even for a rescue. But that... that's not Ryder... he trusts us! Doesn't he...?'_

"Chase? Hello?" Marshall's voice came over on his pup tag.

"H-Huh? Marshall?"

"Chase, we're home. Yumi and Rocky are going to park Ryder's ATV and then get Ryder in his room." Chase finally looked around- in all his over-worrying and thinking, he hadn't realized that they made it back to the Lookout. Hopping out of his truck, Chase made a beeline for Marshall's ambulance to see Ryder for himself.

"R-Ryder...?" he called quietly, fear setting in when the boy didn't reply. Marshall looked at him with a sad expression.

"He's really, really sick, Chase." Marshall's voice was shaky and soft, like he wanted to break down too. "He's getting a fever and he keeps coughing like he's choking on something. He finally got _some_ rest, though. Slept the whole way here."

Chase let out a sad whine as he nudged Ryder's hand, trying to get a response. Ryder let out a small moan of pain, but otherwise didn't wake. Marshall placed a paw on Chases shoulder.

"Let him sleep a little more. After all he's been forcing himself to do, we... we owe him that much."

"... yeah. You're right."

Zuma and Rubble ran outside, yipping and barking happily, as they were eager to congratulate them on their successful mission. They skidded to a sudden halt, the happiness dead in a heartbeat, as they saw Marshall guiding Yumi inside the Lookout. Ryder was still out cold and partially wrapped in a blanket in her arms.

"What-what happened?! What's going on?!" Rubble questioned fearfully as Yumi and Marshall went inside.

"I don't know, dude! Whewe awe the othe-?"

Chase, Rocky and Skye ran up to them. Zuma and Rubble starting asking one question after another, which was irritating Chase as he tried to quiet them down. Unable to get them silent so he could talk, Chase whistled as loudly as he could, startling Rubble but getting both pups to quiet down. Once he had their attention, he explained everything that happened from the time they left to now.

When he was finished, it was complete quiet as everyone processed what had happened and what they heard. No one really knew what to do without Ryder guiding them, and not one pup felt any happiness in the rescue being successful. Each pup did, however, feel some level of guilt for letting Ryder push his body to this point.

"So... what do we do now?" Rubble finally spoke what was on everyone's minds, looking at each of them. "I-I mean, we don't even know what's wrong with Ryder, so how can we help him?"

"I-I don't... honestly, I don't know." Chase admitted quietly. "I guess we wait for Marshall to tell us what he sees and go from there."

"W-Wyder should have taken cawe of himself mowe…" Zuma suddenly whispered sadly. Skye looked at him.

"What was that, Zuma?"

"Wyder should have taken cawe of himself more! H-He's always cawing about us and I... I appwicate that mowe than anything. I weally do. That's why we love him- because he took cawe of us and made us happy... because he loves us and loves Adventuwe Bay, too." Zuma didn't wipe the tears rolling down his face.

"B-but he's always so _wowwied_ about Adventuwe Bay and Adventuwe Beach a-and us and all the other people, and he doesn't even take a day off! It's not wight!"

Rocky said nothing to that. He placed a paw on Zuma's shoulder and pulled him close. _'I thought the same thing, Zuma.'_ he said to himself, still unsure if his anger at Ryder was necessary- it was just a stupid cold, no big deal. _'He has been paying more attention to us because he thinks we need him for everything. He's been like that since... well, forever, it feels like. I shouldn't be mad at him- it's just... it's scary, seeing him like that.'_

"Don't worry, Zuma." Rocky said, still uncertain of his own conflicting thoughts. "Marshall's taking care of him, and we're helping too. Ryder's just down, and we're going to be there to help him."

The others all agreed with Rocky and Zuma wiped his eyes, still a bit upset that things turned out like this. But he did feel better knowing he could help out until Ryder was well again. "Y-Yeah... you'we wight, guys. Thanks."

Chase smiled a little- at least Rubble and Zuma were taking things well, which was more than what he could say for himself. Before he could figure out the next course of action, his pup tag went off again.

"H-Hey, Chase? Could you come here? Ryder wants to talk to you."

* * *

Ryder felt like complete crap. He could deny it no longer. Things definitely escalated fast, and he wasn't even sure how it happened. But he felt like complete crap.

The coughing, he thought was manageable- just take some cough drops for the sore throat, take the medicine and take a day off to sleep, and he'd be fine. Of course, human colds were never that simple. It didn't help he'd been doing more than his body could actually handle, especially since he was worried about the pups.

They were hard workers, he knew that. But they were pushing themselves, too- taking on one rescue after another, sometimes multiple rescues at once, others late at night when they should have been sleeping, and all with the loyalty and fierceness they've always had. Not once did they complain, not once were they angry or irritated- Chase just said it was their "PAW Patrol Duty" to keep Adventure Bay safe for the residents.

Ryder wanted to throw up- his stomach had been feeling queasier since they got back, and took huge, gulping breaths so he wouldn't. He was certain his body couldn't deal with that right now, and he didn't even remember what he'd eaten since... when _was_ the last time he'd ate? Food made the nausea worse, so he quickly switched his thoughts to something else.

The pups saw it before he would even acknowledge it. He was sick and it was getting worse, and when he got that call from Farmer Yumi, he knew- by the stars, he KNEW- he should have taken it easy and tried to let the pups handle it on their own. He trusted Chase to lead them and get the job done right- Chase was a strong leader and a good pup, and the others trusted him as well.

 _'I-Its my... my job. MY job to help others, MY job to take care of the pups! It's-'_ Ryder moaned in pain- his chest was so tight and it felt like he would choke to death laying flat on his back. He rolled on his right side and sighed- it felt a little better, but his chest was still tight, his nose was burning from the constant sneezing, his head and throat still hurt and his body felt like he was in lava, he was so hot. _'Some cold I have... oh, my head...'_

"R-Ryder? Sir?" a small voice called. Ryder smiled, and weakly motioned with his hand for Chase to come in. Chase forced his legs to move towards him, unable to comprehend that this boy, this strong, kind, good person who saved Adventure Bay with a confident smile on his face every single day, was this sick this fast.

 _'I should have forced him to stay behind, I-I should've done more! He needed the rest and I could've just told him to rest and relax and I messed up so badly and there's no way he has a cold and I don't know what I should do!'_ Chase scolded himself as he sat next to Ryder's bed, his head tilted slightly.

"H-Hey, Chase... I'm sorry. I must've worried you..." Ryder whispered, unable to speak any louder without straining his voice. He coughed, almost curling into himself from the searing pain it sent throughout his body, and Chase was up in an instant, unsure of what to do but needed to do something. Panic soon set in, though, and Chase's brain went into overload.

"R-Ryder! What, where's M-Marshall?! I don't know what-!"

"C-Chase, it's okay." Ryder panted once his fit was done. His hand shook as he reached to his pup, placing his hand on his cheek and wiping away his tears with his thumb. "I-I'm alright... just a cold..."

"I-I'm so sorry, Ryder, sir. I didn't... I didn't know what to do..." Chase whispered, his eyes closed tight. Even that couldn't stop the tears from rolling down his cheeks. "I got scared, I-I didn't know what was happening to you and the others needed me and I freaked out and I couldn't say anything and I-I'm not a good leader, I'm always messing things up and I...I..."

Ryder lightly tugged on Chase's collar to get him to come closer. Chase could actually feel heat radiating off Ryder as he rested his head on his shoulder- he really was burning up. "I'm sorry, Ryder. I can't... I can't be a good leader, not... not without you..." Chase whimpered.

"I-I'm not upset with you, Chase." Ryder rasped out quietly, his hand lightly running up and down his quivering pup's back. "Y-You're a good pup... and a good leader. I trust you. I always have..."

Chase didn't know what to say. ' _I almost let you down before, Ryder. I came so close, so close to losing you that day, and you're okay with me leading AGAIN?! I know he's right, I have the others, we can do this but... I just... I can't. I can't lose you again, even if it is just a cold.'_ Chase thought to himself. _'But this feels... bad. Ryder...'_

"L-Listen. I... I need you to... to take care of the others. And A-Adventure Bay." Ryder requested. He stopped his hand movements and tugged Chase away from him, smiling despite his overall crappy feeling. "Y-You have to. T-The people need you. The pups... need you. Just until I get better... please? For me?"

"... y-you... you just have a cold, right?" Chase quietly asked. "Just a cold?"

Ryder nodded. Chase made a choice to ignore his gut instinct and nodded. "I... I'll do it, R-Ryder, sir."

Ryder was pleased. Now he had no reason to worry- Chase and the others would be fine, he would be fine once he got over this cold and actually slept, and things would be back to normal in no time. _'At least, I sure hope so...'_

Chase licked his cheek as he prepared to head back to the others. Ryder was spent and sleep definitely seemed like a wonderful idea. He managed to wave Chase off before he headed back into Dreamland. Chase whispered, "Rest now, Ryder. I'll talk to Marshall and the others, okay? Don't worry, we've got this."

* * *

As he headed back to the lounge, Chase felt that things would be okay, even though there was doubt in the back of his mind. "If Ryder thinks it's just a cold, and Marshall confirms it, then we shouldn't be scared. Ryder can fight off a cold, he'll be well in no time. But until then, we need to keep Adventure Bay safe... and take care of him..." he told himself.

He arrived at the lounge and sat next to Skye and Rubble as Marshall explained what was going on. "Well, Ryder's definitely got either a cold or the flu... I'm leaning towards the flu."

"So it's really just a cold? Ryder's not dying or anything?" Rubble blurted out. Marshall was a bit puzzled by Rubble's conclusion but shook his head yes.

"Yeah, Ryder finally got sick, but I'm not sure from what. In any case, he's definitely out of commission, at least for a week, until he can fight it off. Farmer Yumi helped me out with giving him a once over- his breathing is pretty bad and he kept moaning in pain, so it might be the flu after all."

All the pups let out sighs of relief- they were expecting some serious news, their hearts ready to burst from anticipation while they had waited for anything. Now that they had a clue of what they were up against, they could figure out how to tackle it.

"What does Wyder need to get better, Mawshall?" Zuma asked. Marshall checked off things on his paw as he told them.

"For starters, he needs a lot of rest. I had Farmer Yumi turn Ryder's Pup Pad off so no calls would go to him, and instead it would go to our pup tags. He can't be disturbed unless we need him to eat or take medicine. He also needs a LOT of fluids- he was dry-heaving a few moments ago so I guess he hasn't been eating too much lately, and I really don't know how long he's been like this without saying anything to me."

"Do we need to pick up anything to help?" Rubble asked.

"Don't worry, Farmer Yumi went to pick up some soup from Mr. Porter, more tissues, some weird cream thing for his breathing, and lozenges for his throat."

The pups stared at Marshall quizzically, none of them knowing what a 'lozenge' was or what cream thing she was talking about. "Don't worry, I'll show you when she gets back." Marshall confirmed what they were thinking. "I've never seen some of the stuff she told me about. She also wants us to check in with her in case of anything, but, uh..."

Looking at his best friend with a smile, he clapped him on the back and said, "Well Chase, you're our leader. What do you think?"

Chase was still doubtful of his abilities and what could happen in the future days ahead, but pushed it back and offered a small smile to the team. "I-I think we can do this- all of us. After Farmer Yumi drops the stuff off, Marshall, you'll stay with Ryder tonight, and Skye, you'll stay with him, too."

"H-Huh? How come?" Skye wondered.

"Well, Ryder still wants us to look after Adventure Bay. We can't all be with Ryder at once, so we'll... I guess, rotate or something. I'm not sure yet. But Marshall is out medic pup, so we need him to be with Ryder at all times. He might need help with stuff, so that's why I figured Skye would be our best bet. Farmer Yumi can't just leave her farm, so we need to step up and care for Ryder this time."

Rocky was skeptical- no one could fly Skye's copter due to their size and inexperience, no one but Marshall had any medical experience to help on the field, and having only four pups running around Adventure Bay AND Adventure Beach could easily be a big problem, especially if serious emergencies or rescues popped up. He wondered if Chase actually realized the big picture or if he was just hoping things would work itself out.

"Chase, I don't know. I mean, we've got to protect the people of Adventure Bay, the beach to lifeguard, Mayor Humdinger and the Kitten Katastrophe Crew if he hears about all this, Ryder being out for who knows how long, two of our pups out and NO ONE who knows anything about flying a copter or medical field experience, it's a LOT." Rocky said doubtfully as he realized just how fast things were piling on them.

Rubble and Zuma looked at one another as they listened to Rocky- now that they were hearing it, that did sound like a pretty big omelet. "C-Can we handle all of that?" Zuma hesitantly asked. "What if Wyder gets worse and he's out even longer? We're only pups, dude, not supewhewoes!"

"He's right, Chase." Skye agreed. "We're only pups, and including Everest and Tracker, there's eight of us... but Tracker's in the jungle and it takes days for them to get here, so it's really seven of us, and Everest and Jake have to keep the ski lodge running- even though I know Everest would jump at the chance to help out. It's... it's really a lot for us to do, you know? Do you really think we can do this?"

Just like that, Chase's confidence fell a little, but he refused to let it show. They wasn't wrong- in fact, he was harboring the same doubts, too. This was bigger than before, and it could be far more dangerous if things didn't go well. But he had to do it- Ryder asked him and right now, Ryder was far more important.

"Y-Yeah, I'm sure. We've done a rescue on our own before, how hard could this be?" he tried to sound genuinely confident. "We have to work together, though, and we can call Everest and Tracker if we need them. Besides, Marshall's the best when it comes to medical stuff, so I know Ryder will be fine in no time. After all, it's just a cold- give it a week and things will be okay, you'll see."

No one looked really 100 percent certain, especially Marshall, but figured if Chase was trying to be positive, they needed to think positive, too. Rocky still didn't like that answer, but didn't feel like engaging in argument. He could only hope his doubts would be erased by the end of the week and Ryder would be better again.

Chase, on the other hand, was relieved Rocky accepted the answer for what it was, because he felt horrible he was lying through his teeth. _'I'm saying don't worry?! Seriously?! Who the heck am I kidding! He's right- there's only going to be four of us, and even with help from Jake or Katie or Mr. Porter, there's only so many of us that can handle EVERY last thing around here... and that's assuming nothing else bad happens... ohhhh man, I hope I didn't just get us in some serious trouble.'_

He looked at all the pups, who were coming up with some kind of a plan for the rest of the week, and tried to remain positive. _'Ryder's counting on us. So we need to do this right. We have to!'_

* * *

 **And done! Well, this was a lot longer than I thought it would be.**

 **Anyways, please review and let me know what you think.**

 **Until next chapter!**


	6. Fatigue

**Hello all!**

 **Just a quick note: to my immediate knowledge, in the entirety of the show, Adventure Bay only showed a dental office ("Pups Save a Toof"). Not a human hospital (Katie pretty much runs a vet and pet salon) or clinic. For the sake of this and a future background story, I'll be making up a clinic, and any staff needed. I just wanted to make that clear before I continue.**

 **If there is something I might have missed that's canon to the show, feel free to let me know. Otherwise, please enjoy, and Happy New Years and Happy belated Holidays!**

* * *

 **Caretaker**

 **Chapter 6-Fatigue**

The next few days were slowly wearing on the pups, but they still tried to keep things running as if Ryder was still leading them. It wasn't easy, and it wasn't going to get any easier, either.

Marshall yawned loudly as he stretched out the kinks in his hind legs and back. It was the third night he'd spent in Ryder's room- Chase had decided it would be better if Marshall camped out in his room to be close to him and monitor his flu. Skye sometimes relieved him for an hour or two so Marshall could catch some sleep in his pup house, as Ryder being sick was much harder than he thought.

He didn't really seem to be fighting off the flu as well as he thought, but Marshall held out hope that things would turn around by the end of the week. Still, Ryder was growing paler and he was hardly eating anything, not even Mr. Porter's chicken broth- and that was after he threw up what he did manage to eat last night. He was shaking and his fever was worsening- it hiked up to 101.2 from its 100.3 it had been at last night, and cold towels didn't seem to help.

Marshall and Skye were scared, and wondered if they had to face the alternative and send Ryder to the Adventure Bay Urgent Care Clinic yet again. They knew Chase would not take too kindly to a return trip to the doctor's, but they weren't seeing much of a choice.

Rescues weren't all that much better. Between Rubble, Chase, Zuma and Rocky, they had to rip and run throughout the entire town and the beach, as well as Humdinger's nonsense. It was tiring, as the town and beach were huge, someone had to be able to do lifeguard duty, and three pups in a huge town with very little sleep was bound to cause some issues... which it did.

Rocky almost drowned during his turn as lifeguard pup, Zuma was so tired he slammed the front of his hovercraft into Seal Island- luckily not causing too much damage- and Chase was giving out orders that were so risky that it worried the others more than normal.

They all knew better, but their worry and concern for Ryder coupled with the little sleep they were getting made the pups far more careless in their rescues. And it didn't go unnoticed.

Mayor Goodway, who knew about Ryder's illness and was trying to be sympathetic to the pups, still called on the PAW Patrol for menial things like saving Chickaletta from atop a tree, or to help her ring the City Hall bell to indicate time. Capt'n Turbot wasn't much better, constantly calling because of the Flounder getting stuck or damaged, or because he was constantly locking himself out of his lighthouse home, or for some odd reason involving the wildlife of Adventure Bay. He, too, tried to lessen how often he had to call on the pups, but that seemed to be backfiring as well.

Farmer Yumi and Farmer Al did call on them from time to time, but Chase was thankful for her help, and they didn't call unless it was an actual emergency or to see how things were going. Katie, Mr. Porter and Alex were the same- hardly calling unless to check in with the pups or Alex managed to get himself into trouble.

Overall, three whole days of little to no sleep from worrying about Ryder's condition, trying to keep the town safe, dealing with Humdinger's crazy schemes the one day, and keeping the pups in line we're starting to wear on the young police pup's shoulders. He was trying to keep his irritation in line for the sake of his friends and Ryder, but it was hard when so many adults kept testing his patience.

 _'JEEZ! Ryder needs us right now- he's sick as a pup! And are you guys are seriously calling us for the stupidest things?! Why can't you all just use your heads and figure it out! You're ADULTS! We're KIDS! And Ryder is SICK! HE needs us now!'_

* * *

"M-Marshall... it-it's c-c-cold..." Ryder suddenly stammered quietly, catching both him and Skye, who had been getting the VaporRub and some more cold towels for him, off guard. They shared a glance before Marshall barked out his thermometer and stuck it in Ryder's mouth.

"Cold? Ryder, that isn't right. Y-you're burning up..." Marshall doubted as he read off the new temperature. "You're at 102 degrees and it's slowly climbing up. What's going on with you, Ryder?"

Skye flew over, two damp and cold towels in her paws and a small blue tub in a small bag gripped between her teeth. She dropped the VaporRub on the ground next to Marshall, before she landed on the bed and sadly looked down at her leader.

Ryder was wheezing something fierce and it made her wince as she could hear him trying to take deep breaths. But there wasn't a whole lot she could do about that. Instead, she pulled back the blanket and gently raised his shirt.

"Marshall, his shirt needs to be changed. It's drenched in sweat..." she mentioned as she placed one cold towel across his forehead and another one on his stomach. It seemed to help, just like it always did before- Ryder's face visibly changed as the pained expression smoothed out and his raspy breathing evened out. Skye knew it wouldn't last long, and that Ryder needed something to control his symptoms, fast.

"Hmm... okay, let me see if he has anything in here. Never actually been in Ryder's room before..." Marshall replied as he set off to find a dry, clean shirt. Skye say next to Ryder, sadness in her heart as she watched him fight the flu.

"Oh, Ryder, you look terrible..." Skye whispered as she finished adjusting the towel. Ryder let out a very soft groan before his head slowly turned to her, his eyes still closed. She sighed and ran her paw down his cheek, worried about the heat.

"I wish there was more we could do. After all the hard times you've made easier for us, I..." Ryder slowly opened his eyes, looking at her drowsily.

"Ryder?" She leaned closer, worried at the strange glaze in his eyes. "Can you hear me? Ryder?"

He raised a shaky hand to her, and Skye nuzzled it. _'He's on fire! Just how bad did his fever get?'_

"S-Skye..." he breathed. His voice was long since gone, having been shot over the three days Marshall had been watching him. It was raspy, sometimes hard to hear unless one was sitting close to him.

"... I'm s-sorry... I didn't... mean to... to worry you..." Skye's eyes filled with tears, and she wiped them away as she continued to nuzzle Ryder's hand and lick his cheek, feeling the fever radiating off his body.

"Shhhh. It's okay, I'm not worried. I-I'm not, really." She swallowed back her tears and licked Ryder's hand. "W-we just want you to get better, Ryder." she whispered. "Me and Marshall are here for you. And Chase, he's taking care of the town with the others. Its alright, okay? Just get some rest, and... please, get better soon."

Ryder nodded weakly before he sneezed, curling in on himself as the sneeze sent pain throughout his head and body. Marshall and Skye uncurled him and laid the towels back on him before covering him once again with his thick blanket, leaving his upper body exposed to help the towels cool him off. Ryder let out a pained whimper, his eyes squeezed shut against the pounding of his skull.

"M-my head... hurts..." he moaned. Marshall checked the time- it was almost seven in the evening. "I'm sorry, Ryder..." Marshall apologized sadly as he nuzzled his cheek. "But I can't give you anymore medicine for another two hours. Try and sleep for now, okay?"

Ryder tried to nod to show he'd heard, but the pain shooting throughout his body was too much to handle, and he whimpered in pain again. Skye helped Marshall prop all four pillows under his head and neck to help with his breathing, and Marshall applied more VaporRub to his chest to open up his nose and chest. Skye checked the towel on his forehead and moved the one on his stomach to the side so she could cover him properly.

"Marshall. Can I ask you something?" Skye couldn't bear to leave Ryder's side, not when he was in so much pain. She laid down next to him, dealing with his shaking, literally hot hand on her head. Her presence seemed to help- he soon stopped whimpering and the slight tremebling ceased.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Do you... do you really think Ryder has just the flu? Is he supposed to be this sick?"

Marshall slowly cleaned the used tissues and wrappers from Ryder's children's medicine, and tossed the dry shirt over to her, realizing they would need the others to help change it later. He mulled over the question asked. "Skye, I... I don't know... I mean, I can't imagine he has anything else, so-"

"Yeah, but Marshall, just look at him. He just... it's bad, you know?" Skye moved from under Ryder's hand, gently nudging it to rest over his stomach. Ryder mumbled something before he slowly turned to his side, back facing Marshall.

"Skye, I-" Marshall had no clue what to say to help. She lept off the bed and sat next to Marshall.

"I'm not blaming you, or anypup. I'm just... I'm really worried about him. And... a little afraid for him, too. I'm not used to seeing him down and out like this, except for _that_ incident." She admitted as she stared at nothing in particular.

"It kind of makes me wonder, how could he have gotten to this point? And why didn't we see it sooner?"

Marshall sighed and finished cleaning up the medicine and used tissues, among other things. "I don't really know." he finally answered. "M-Maybe... we've been caught up with so much, worrying about Adventure Bay, about... about that nightmare of a day, we just..."

He placed a new box of tissues, the medicine and the VaporRub on Ryder's nightstand. Skye sat nearb in case she was needed. "I know, but that's still not an excuse, Marshall. Even after that, even after our oath to care for this town, Ryder should have been first! But... its like he forgot all about himself. And... I kind of feel like... we forgot about him, too."

"No! No, we didn't! We love Ryder! He knows that, we all know that!" Marshall adamantly yelled, stomping his paw on the ground in protest. "You know we wouldn't forget about his health, not after last time!"

Skye realized she tapped a sensitive spot in her best friends heart, and it was completely understandable. She raised her paw in peace. "Marshall, that isn't what I mean-"

"Stop, Skye... just stop." His bottom lip trembled. "We wouldn't forget about him. We were always worried about him, every rescue. We never forgot, so why would you..."

"Marshall, I'm sorry. That wasn't what I meant." she apologized softly. Marshall nodded and looked over his shoulder at him.

"I know, Skye. I know, and I'm sorry for what I said. It's just... Ryder has the flu, and I want to believe that's all it is. But... something feels wrong and I... I dont know if we'll be enough to help..."

"Marshall, Ryder trusts you. That's why he made you our medic. If you feel like something else is wrong, then I believe you. After all..." Skye rested her head on his shoulder.

"You were right before. You saved him that day. So I know he'll be okay. He has you, and you have us. I'm just scared, that's all."

 _'I know, I know, but... I don't WANT to be right again! I just want Ryder to be better and to stop forgetting to care about himself. We're just... kids. And we're all we have. I never should have had to see what I saw that day, none of us should. It should have been a fun day...'_ Marshall thought to himself.

"Hey, Skye?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. For the talk. I think all this is really getting to me." Marshall smiled tiredly and rubbed his eyes. "Maybe I just need to rest for a moment."

Skye moved her head and returned the tired smile. "That sounds good. I'll watch Ryder; go get some sleep. I'll call if I need you to come up." She headed off to make sure she had everything she needed and to make a quick video call to Katie for some more supplies. Marshall headed for the elevator. As he did, his pup tag beeped.

"H-Hello? Marshall? You there?"

"Chase?" Marshall answered. He let out a yawn. Hey, how was the rescue? Got Capt'n Turbot back to dry land? Again?" He tried to make it sound light hearted but he was too tired to put much effort behind it.

"It went... okay, I think. I mean, w-well, yeah. It went good. Turbot's safe. He says for Ryder to get better."

Marshall paused for a moment as Chase let out another yawn. "Chase? You sound tired; you sure you're okay? Maybe it's time to call it a day. It's late."

"I-I... well, yeah... a little. Its been a long day, Marshall." Chase admitted as he glanced over his shoulder- Rubble was utterly out of it, his eyes dipping and jerking as he fought the urge to sleep while he drove. Zuma was chewing on his bottom lip, exhaustion in his eyes as well but trying to focus on the road ahead.

"I can imagine. Long day doesn't begin to cover it." Marshall yawned again as he made his way downstairs, and checked in with Rocky- the eco pup wasn't asleep, but keeping himself busy with cleaning out his recyleables that he kept in his pup house. He was tired from the past two days, but couldn't really sleep. After a brief once over, the dally pup finally saw peace as he headed for his own pup house. "Honestly, we're beat here, too."

"How's Ryder?"

Marshall sighed heavily as he wiggled out of his medic vest. He tossed it to the side and checked his pup pack- a few tools needed cleaning, but he would deal with that later on, too. "Marshall?"

"Chase, he... he's not any better than he was yesterday. He's still coughing and his fever isn't going down; its slowly going up. It's at 102, and that's bad."

Chase was in disbelief- of course there was no good news anywhere, was there? "Seriously? Its that bad?"

"Yeah. And he's pretty much lost his voice, too. His breathing is raspy, he's congested and he's very weak- he can barely lift his head to take his medicine."

Chase didn't know what to make of the news he got. "I thought it was just the flu? That sounds worse..." he muttered. Marshall was quiet as he considered an alternative- one he knew Chase would dislike as much as he himself did.

"Chase, listen. There's a possibility- a slight possibility- we, uh, might have to take him..."

"Where? Take him where?" Chase was practically screaming, not in the mood for any suspenseful pauses. "Marshall-"

"To the doctor, Chase." Marshall answered. "He might really need more than us again, especially if his fever keeps hiking."

Chase's blood froze. If there was one thing more than doctors he couldn't stand, it was any of his friends having to go there. "T-the doctor's? Again?Ryder... he's really that sick..."

"It's just a theory, Chase. It's not the end of the week so I don't know- he might get better by then."

"What do you mean, he _might?_ I thought you said it was just a flu! It shouldn't take anywhere past a week for him to fight it off!" Chase snapped, loud enough to catch Zuma's attention.

"But that's just it, Chase! I... I'm starting to doubt myself, I don't know if it IS the flu anymore. It's not normal, not from what I saw back when Katie, Alex and Mayor Goodway all had it. They fought it off and they were fine by the week's end. This... this is something else, something I don't know anything about."

Chase slowed down to an almost complete stop. Zuma and Rubble did the same after about a block of noticing no Chase in sight. Zuma looked over his shoulder and saw Chase talking in his dashboard. He tapped his pup tag and called Rubble.

"Hey, Wubble? Is it just me or is Chase dwiving like an old dog? Think something is wong?"

Rubble yawned loudly over his tag and parked next to Zuma's hovercraft. "I dunno, but can't we just go home? I'm so tiredddd! Capt'n Turbot and Wally really did a number on the Flounder and me and my drill need a nap!" he whined, curling in his seat.

Zuma couldn't be upset; in fact, he agreed- they all made some rookie mistakes in today's rescue that wouldn't have happened if Ryder was there.

Chase especially seemed heavily distracted, giving out orders that either made no sense or was so risky it was careless, such as having Rubble man Zuma's sub long enough for Chase to free the Flounder from dangerous sharp rocks and old trash.

 _'Chase must be checking on Wyder. He must not be heawing good news. I bettew check on him.'_ Zuma thought.

"I'm going to check on Chase. Just wait hewe, Wubble." Zuma announced as he started up his engine. Rubble mumbled something of an acknowledgement, pulled over to the curb, and curled back into a ball in his seat.

"Hey, Chase?" Zuma calles as he pulled up to him. Chase looked like he'd seen a ghost- or a killer dentist of some kind.

"Uhhh, hello? Chase...?"

"Marshall, you're our medic! You should be all he needs, not another stupid doctor! Take care of him and do what Ryder trained us to do!" Chase yelled into his tag. Zuma winced- That was harsh.

"You don't think I am?! But we've never seen Ryder sick so how can I know if I'm even helping right now?! For all I know I'm making things worse!"

"Because Ryder trusts you! We trust you! You have to take care of this! It's YOUR responsibility! That's why Ryder made you a medic pup, darn it! Whatever is wrong with Ryder, you need to figure it out! We are NOT going back to that clinic!" Chase ended the call before Marshall could say anything, slumping in his seat as he realized immediately what he'd just said. Zuma inched closer to him, a little shaken up about that argument.

"C-Chase, dude?" He asked carefully. "You alwight?"

The German Shepard turned to him anger clouding his vision and rational thinking. "No! No, I'm not okay! It's like no one gives a hoot that Ryder needs us to be responsible for once! We depend on him for everything! But the one time he needs us, the ONE time, and all of sudden we can't do anything right!"

Zuma felt a sting in his chest- Chase was saying some harsh things, but he wanted to chalk it up to the stress piling on him. "That's not twue, Chase. Mawshall's doing his best, and you know it." He said quietly. "He's not a doctor- he's a kid, like you."

Chase stared hard at his dashboard for a moment. Then he started up his engine. "Let's go back." He said, not looking at Zuma as he drove past him and Rubble. Zuma watched as he drove off, his eyes now stinging with tears.

"Did... you mean that, Chase? What you said?" He asked himself as he drove after him, stopping to wake Rubble. The rest of the ride home was tense, and Zuma felt the hurt grow more and more as he lingered on Chase's words. He tapped his tag.

"M-Mawshall...? You thewe?" He whispered. His heart tightened when he heard some light sniffling before said pup finally spoke.

"Y-Yeah. Sorry, Zuma. I..."

"It's cool, dude. L-listen, can I talk to you? When I get back? Chase, he..." Zuma wipes his eyes and trailed off. Marshall realized he'd gotten the bad end of Chase's temper as well.

"... yeah. I'm in my pup house. Just knock, okay?"

* * *

 **And done! I could imagine Chase losing his patience, and again I can't blame him- taking on the world at a young age can stress them out pretty quick. Don't worry, I'm not going to leave this little spat without closure.**

 **As usual, please let me know what you think, and I'll see you all in the new year!**

 **Until next chapter!**


	7. Breaking Point

**Hello all! Happy 2019 New Years! Sorry for the long wait, but I hope everyone had a good holiday!**

 **This is the first update for the new 2019 year, and I'm excited for the road ahead! I'd also like to thank everyone who's been reviewing, favoriting and following this story- it means a lot to me! I'll do more personalized thanks at the end of this story.**

 **With that, this chapter... well, it was kind of hard to write. I had it finished last week (to my shock because I took a week off for New Years), but I hated the draft and thought it didn't go too well with the rest of the story. Several rewrites later, and I'm still not too satisfied with it, but I don't think editing it will help it any more, so here we are. This will have a bit of the feels, and things will escalate quickly! So please enjoy! I own nothing, per usual.**

* * *

 **Caretaker**

 **Chapter 7- Breaking Point**

When Zuma knocked lightly on Marshall's door, the dally took a moment to compose himself before he opened it. Zuma himself was red-eyed and a bit sniffly, but tried to put on a brave face regardless.

"Hey, Zuma. Listen, I..." Marshall sighed. "I-I don't know what just happened, he-"

"It's not your fault, Mawshall." Zuma cut him off, walking in and taking a seat nearest the end of the pup house. He laid his head down, his eyes staring at his brown paws. "I... I don't know what just happened myself."

Marshall closed his door before joining Zuma, sitting next to him, his head hanging in tired sadness. Zuma could feel something was weighing on Marshall, no doubt something Chase said to him. "You okay?"

"... yeah. Just really tired." Marshall answered quietly. "Chase said... Ryder's my responsibility. And I know that, but..." His paws curled in frustration, and angry tears started running down his cheeks.

"But what can I _do?_ I've done everything I could, and Ryder only taught me so much! I'm not a doctor, I'm not even a grown dog! I'm... I'm just a pup... we all are..."

Zuma let the words sink in, still staring at nothing in particular. "I know what you mean." he finally spoke, his voice oddly soft and a bit upset. "Heck, I'm youngew than you. But... you'we doing a lot, Mawshall. Wyder would be proud of you. You know, if he could talk bettew. And he wasn't all sick."

Marshall chuckled a little and wiped his face. "T-Thanks, Zuma. I just wish Chase could understand like you do... he's so stubborn..."

Zuma rolled his eyes, a playful expression slowly emerging. "Uh, Mawshall? I know that's youw best fwiend, but even I know that pup is a bit- no, a LOT hawdheaded!" he laughed, secretly relived when Marshall joined in. Once the laughing died down, both pups felt a bit of the world's weight lift off their small shoulders.

"You know I couldn't tell Wocky. About what Chase said." Zuma suddenly changed the topic. "I know how he's going to weact, and that's not going to end well."

Marshall nodded in understanding. "Mawshall? How is Wyder doing? Weally? Besides Chase yelling, I didn't heaw too much about him."

At that, the dally bit his lip, wondering if he should tell Zuma or sugar-coat it. He quickly realized lying to him wouldn't help things any, so he decided to go with option 2. "Ryder's... not doing too well. He's getting worse, and if things keep going like this, well... he-"

"He's going to need to go to the doctor's?" Zuma finished with a knowing smile. He chuckled at the expression on Mawshall's face. "I did mange to ovewheaw the end of Chase's convewsation befowe he got... snippy."

"Snippy...huh, that's a funny way to put it." Marshall commented before he yawned. "But it's true. I mean, I know Chase is feeling the pressure- so am I, so are all of you. What else can we really do?"

Zuma sighed. What else could they do was a good question. "Say, is Chase in his pup house?"

Marshall shrugged. "Maybe. Why?"

Zuma stood up, feeling a bit better after the chat. "Maybe we should all go see Wyder and stay with him, even if it's just for tonight. Maybe Chase does feel alone, twying to do so much fow all of us. If we all go, if we all pitch in and help with you and Skye... maybe Chase will get it thwough that thick head of his that he has us to help, too."

Marshall liked the idea, but first, he wanted to talk to his best friend alone. "Not a bad plan, Zuma. But, uh... do you mind if I talk to him myself? Before we go?"

He stood up and headed for his door. Zuma tilted his head, wondering what Marshall was going to do. Marshall took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I know, you've got questions. But like you said before, I know Chase- he's practically my big brother. What he said to you, to me, he didn't mean it. He's stressed... and believe me, you don't want to see how worse it can get."

Zuma's eyes almost bulged out of his head, and Marshall couldn't help but laugh as the chocolate lab exclaimed, "Wait, thewe's a _wowse?!"_

* * *

Chase was curled in the middle of his pup house, his head on his front paws. He felt terrible, both physically and emotionally, but mostly emotionally.

He was being completely unreasonable, and he knew he shouldn't have snapped at Marshall and Zuma like he did. But there had been so much going on- Ryder, Capt'n Turbot's constant issues, Mayor Goodway's Chickaletta rescues-which were becoming more and more of a ridiculous inconvenience, might he add-, and then Marshall simply doing his best to help, and the others were too, and _he was tired too, you inconsiderate-_

A knock sounded lightly at his door, stopping that thought. "C-Chase...? You, uh, you awake? Can I talk to you?"

Chase covered his mouth and inched stealthily away from his door. He couldn't do it right now. He loved Marshall and Zuma like his little brothers, but if he saw them he was sure the creaking dam he had building inside of him would burst.

 _'Not now, Marshall... please. Go away, just give me some space! I just... I need some space... please...'_

Marshall frowned a little- he knew Chase was inside, but he probably had his own thoughts to sort out. He shook his head and smiled a little. _'He always tries to do it all himself, even when he needs someone there. That's my brother for you... so, so prideful...'_

He made up his mind. Getting comfy and pushing Chase's water bowl to the side for now, he sat next to Chase's pup house and leaned against it. The metal was cold but at the moment, he didn't care. "It's okay, Chase. If you don't wanna talk." He spoke loud enough for Chase to hear him, but kept his tone understanding and made sure the words he spoke wouldn't upset him more.

"But please, hear me out. I just wanted to say Zuma forgives you. You just... you kind of scared him, getting so upset. But he understands, he gets it. I do, too. And Rocky, and Rubble and Skye get it, too. You have a LOT on you right now."

He stopped and let out a breath before he glanced up at the sky. Chase's eyes filled with tears, his paw tightening over his mouth. Shutting his eyes tight, he struggled to gain control of his emotions. _'Stupid dally, stupid, stupid! Why are you saying that? Why? Just go away, Marshall! Please, just go away...'_

"I know you want to make Ryder proud. I do, too. We all do. He's done so much for each of us, loved us, taught us to give back... he's always just... giving himself to this town. And sometimes, it feels like he never once, not once, let us give to him what he's always given to us."

 _'Stop it... stop it, stop it, STOP!'_ Chase's ears pressed against his head, his body shaking from having to fight against his feelings. Now was just not the time, and he refused to show anything that came off as weak.

Marshall sighed; Chase really wasn't up for talking too much tonight, that was obvious. "Well, uh, I hope you're okay in there. And listen. I'm here, you know, if you want to talk. Any one of us, you know? Just... know you're not alone. Ryder is counting on all of us, working together. It's not going to be all on you."

It was those words that made Chase finally open his eyes, his vision blurry from his tears. Marshall placed his paw on Chase's pup house door. "Well, I'm going to check in on Skye and Ryder. Everyone is going to be staying with him tonight, keep him company. When you're ready... you know where we are."

Marshall got up and stretched before he walked off, glancing worriedly over his shoulder. "I'm worried about you, Chase..." he whispered to himself before he headed for the Lookout doors. One he could no longer hear footsteps outside his pup house, Chase finally allowed himself to breathe, his heart beating hard in his chest. He didn't bother wiping the drying tears on his face, and now he was starting to get a headache.

"M-Marshall... I... I know... you're right. I'm not alone in this, and I should KNOW that!" Chase decided to take one night off from being the town's Ryder replacement. He couldn't take anymore.

"I can't face them tonight. Not like this, not with how I'm feeling." Chase removed his pup pack, vest and hat and tossed it all to a corner. "I'll apologize to them in the morning. I just... I need one night to myself." Chase took a breath before he glanced down at his pup tag. Well, there was one thing he could do before he called it a night.

"Hello, dude. Zuma here."

"H-Hey, Zuma. Can... I talk to you?"

* * *

When Zuma reached the top, he skidded in his tracks. It was the first time in almost four days he'd seen Ryder with his own two eyes, and Marshall was not kidding- he looked terrible.

Skye, Marshall, Rocky and Rubble were sitting with him- Skye and Marshall were taking down Ryder's condition, Rocky was assisting by bringing any supplies they would need, and Rubble was curled next to Ryder, keeping the sick boy company while staying out of the way. All heads turned upon Zuma's entrance.

"Hey, Zuma." Skye greeted as she finished up her observations on Ryder. She glanced behind him, noticing chase wasn't with him. "Is Chase-?"

Zuma nonchantly waved his paw. "No pwoblem, Skye. He said he wasn't feeling too hot tonight, and said he would see us in the mowning. Anything changes with Wyder, he said to call."

Marshall was even more worried- Chase actually called Zuma and spoke to him? But didn't bother to let him know what was going on? _'Maybe Chase really is angry at me...'_ he thought sadly as he finished up with Ryder's notes. He quickly tucked that sadness away, not wanting anyone else to notice it.

"How's Wyder doing?" Zuma asked as he hopped atop the bed and nuzzled Ryder's cheek. At the wet feeling moving against his cheek, Ryder groaned as struggled to open his eyes. One hand flopped and hit Rubble's head.

"Still about the same. His voice is completely gone, he's in pain, still coughing and sneezing, fever's stuck at 102.1, he's wheezing like crazy... it's bad." Marshall read off one after another. "This is getting really bad..."

Zuma couldn't agree more. Ryder looked paler than normal, and his wheezing and coughing sounded bad. Really bad. "So what should we do now?" He worried, glancing over Ryder, slightly trembling body- it kind of spooked Zuma how he could see that, even with Ryder under his blankets. "He's pwetty sick- should we call that doctow lady, Mawshall?"

"Hmmm... maybe we should. But Chase will flip out if we do."

"Well, what other choice do we have right now?" Rocky countered. "Ryder needs help- _human_ help. There isn't much else we can do!"

"Hello? Pups? Anyone there?" Marshall looked at his pup tag, not wanting to talk to Chase at the moment. Skye and Rocky glanced at each other, noticing Marshall seemed almost afraid of answering Chase's call. Rocky tapped his pup tag, his eyes never leaving Marshall. _'Something's wrong. Why didn't Marshall answer him? And why does he look so sad?'_

"Chase, it's Rocky. What's up?"

"Listen, I'm on my way up. I, uh..." Chase paused, musing over his words before he decided now wasn't a good time for whining. "Well, guess I couldn't really sleep. How's Ryder doing?"

Rocky, once again, waited for Marshall to answer since he was technically the medic. But Marshall just walked off to sit with Rubble, that sad look in his eyes slowly becoming a more defeated look. The mixed breed narrowed his eyes. His gut was right- something was wrong. "Not any better, really. His fever's becoming a bit of a problem. We need some way to cool him down, and fast. Can you get up here?"

Rocky could've sworn he saw Marshall's whole body tense as he spoke those words. Chase was quiet for a second before he agreed to meet the others, despite not feeling emotionally ready to see his dearest friend in his state.

"Uh, is umm... is Marshall in there?"

"Yeah. Is everything okay? He looks pretty upset."

Chase sighed; he should've just let Marshall in his pup house. _'Silly dally probably thinks I'm ignoring him. But I wasn't! He should know he means a lot to me! I just wasn't up to talk. But I heard him. I listened.'_

"He-llloooo? Earth to Chase?" Rocky's voice cut through the German Shepherd's hazy thought. He actually managed to get inside the elevator rather absentmindedly, which worried him a good bit.

"Oh, heh." Chase embarrassingly as the doors closed. "S-Sorry, Rocky. But um... could you tell him I'm on my way up? I need to talk to him- I think I might've made a mistake."

Rocky ended the call, and approached Marshall, who was sitting on the bed, looking at Ryder with a distant glaze in his eyes.

"Marshall? Hey, Marshall?" The dally pup looked up at Rocky.

"You alright? You look sad." Rocky said as he sat next to him. Marshall tried to play it off, offering a fake smile and waving his paw around as he shook his head.

"I'm fine! Yep, I'm alright! Tired, yeah, but who isn't, right?" Marshall knew in his head he sounded WAY too playful and happy, and Rocky was a genius. He was going to see right through his façade. Which he called him out on a split second later.

"Did Chase say something to you?"

"Uhhh… umm..." Marshall was completely unsure of how to address what was really going on. Instead, he dropped the fake happy act. "Its not a big deal, really. Please, let it go?" he begged him. Rocky narrowed his eyes, but reluctantly agreed.

"Fine. Chase said he was coming up, and he wants to talk to you." The mixed pup grinned before he lunged at Marshall, pinning him to the bed before he began to tickle his side. Marshall nearly lost his breath- it was so sudden and unlike Rocky.

"Ahahahahaha-! W-Wait, Rocky!" Marshall laughed until tears were brought to his eyes. "Okay, o-okay! I'll talk, I'll talk! No-no more, please!"

Rocky was ready to tickle Marshall until the dally couldn't breathe, but just then, Ryder started laughing lightly in his fever induced slumber. It caught all the pups attention, and Rocky pulled himself off Marshall so he could see it for himself.

"What on earth... Is Ryder laughing? In his sleep?" Rubble wondered as he poked at his handler. He jumped back with a yelp when Ryder lifted his arm over his stomach as his oddly random laughter slowly died down and his face relaxed, a smile still on his lips. Rocky tilted his head.

"It's his fever. I think he's hallucinating."

Marshall, Zuma and Rubble all looked at one another, the massive word going right over their young heads. "He's... uhhhh, he's hall-a-what now?" they all asked at once. Rocky rolled his eyes in amusement as he explained.

" _Hallucinating."_ Rocky repeated slowly. "Ryder taught me about it when Alex was sick last year... it's when you think you see something but it's just your sickness playing tricks on your mind."

Marshall whistled. "I can't believe I've never heard of that before! Guess I learned something new today, huh?"

Rocky chuckled as he patted his friend on his shoulder. "You've got years to learn these things, Marshall. Once Ryder gets better, he might teach us more things like that."

"I kinda hope so, but I'm also hoping we never go through this thing again."

At the mention of the name, Marshall checked on his patient- he was still mumbling under his breath, a lot of the things he spoke almost impossible to understand. He peeled off the damp towels and carefully checked his temperature again.

"Oh, Ryder... you look terrible..." Chase whispered sadly to himself upon walking in the room. All heads turned as Skye filled him in on what had been happening. Once he was caught up to speed, he hopped on the bed next to Marshall, Rocky, and Rubble.

"So we need to find a way to cool him down, fast." Chase mused as he started pacing back and forth, trying to come up with a plan. Marshall stared down at Ryder, an idea formulating in his head. He was unsure if it would work, but seeing as how Chase would quickly shut down the other one, he figured he didn't have much left to lose.

"Chase? I, uh, I have an idea. But I'm not sure how well it's gonna work..." Marshall hesistated, waiting for Chase to stop pacing. Once he had his attention, he spoke the next words carefully, gauging his reaction the whole while.

"We could get the bathtub full of icy cold water, and maybe... get Ryder in the tub? Its better than cooling down only parts of him, and it might force his fever to a safer point."

Chase nodded a bit too quickly, not really processing the plan- and a major flaw that, once again, Rocky had to point out.

"Hey, uh, Marshall? You do realize Ryder is a _human,_ right?"

"Yeah, so...?" Marshall tilted his head, not seeing what he was getting at. Rocky face-pawed, letting out an exasperated groan- how did Ryder end up choosing such a naïve pup to be their medic, he would never know.

"Marshall, I love you. Really, I do. But I'm going to spell this out just _once._ Just how exactly are we supposed to _carry a ten year old boy_ down the hall, into a bathroom, and into a _tub_ that, mind you, none of _US_ can actually reach without the stepladder? _AND_ Ryder's help from time to time?"

Marshall and Chase both froze, looking at one another. They _did_ forgot about that little detail. "Ohhhh… yeah, we forgot about that..." Marshall realized as he didn't think that part of his plan of his though. But Chase didn't care- there was a way they could help him, and they would figure it out along the way. _'Ryder wouldn't let something this small and stupid stop him from completing his task! And I won't either! He needs us right now and I'm not giving up on him!'_

As Marshall, Rocky and now Rubble, who'd overheard most of the conversation, tried to figure out what to do, Rubble made a suggestion. "Why not just call the nice doctor lady to come take a loo-"

"NO!" Chase was angry now as he stared at the three young males, the anger strong enough that Rubble whimpered and half stepped back, slightly hiding behind Rocky. "We are NOT taking him back there, you hear me?!"

Rocky and Marshall looked worriedly at one another, unsure of what to say to an angry Chase. "Chase, please listen! He needs help, more than what I can do!" Marshall tried to reason. "I can't-"

Chase growled and stepped forward. Marshall gulped and staggered back, a bit afraid of his unreasonable emotions. "I'm leader here, Marshall." Chase interrupted rudely, his glare shifting from Marshall to Rocky to the still whimpering Rubble. "What I say goes, and I said we are NOT taking him to that hospital! Do I make myself clear?!"

Skye walked over to him, placing a paw on his shoulder to try and calm him down. "Chase, stop. These are your friends, and they care about Ryder just as much as you do!" she spread her paw out at each of the young male pups. "Why are you so insistent on this? Ryder is getting worse and we've done nothing but care for him for the past four days!"

Chase didn't respond, just stared angrily at the ground below him. Marshall looked over his shoulder at Ryder and left to check his temperature for what felt like the millionth time that day alone. Rubble hastily followed him, and Zuma walked over to Chase, Rocky and Skye.

"Chase? Why don't you like Dr. Kingston? She was cool with all of us, dude." Zuma asked calmly. "Even you. Talk to us, Chase. What's weally going on?"

Chase gritted his teeth, the urge to spill the completely truth before apologizing to Marshall yet again like a big baby building up inside of him. But his pride overtook his guilt and he lifted his head to look Zuma in the eye.

"Let's just focus on taking care of Ryder, Zuma." And with that, Chase pushed past the two and walked out of the bedroom. Zuma and Skye looked at Marshall, whose paw was shaking from fighting the urge to cry himself.

 _'W-What was I just doing? O-oh yeah, gotta take care of Ryder. I have to stay strong, darn it! I can't-'_

"Hey, Marshall?" Rubble asked. He was the youngest, and as such, he normally had no clue how to handle tense and serious situations like these. But he did know when a friend was hurting and how to comfort them- with a warm Rubble hug.

"Don't you listen to Chase. Ryder trusts you, and I do too!" He pulled back after a split moment and grinned. "We're here. And if Chase wants to be a hard headed meanie, then he'll have to learn that he can't do that to friends!"

Skye, Zuma and Rocky all agreed as they surrounded him. "He's right. It's okay, Marshall." Skye comforted. "Now tell us, what do you want us to do? Ryder's fever is the main issue right now- should we call Yumi or-?"

Marshall didn't know what to do, if anything he came up with would be of any help at this point. But as they listened to Ryder's wheezing and remembered the ever rising fever that was slowly cooking him from the inside out, Marshall knew time was of the essence and that they were wasting it standing around. He placed his paw on Ryder's forehead.

"Hey, Ryder. I'm sorry it's taking so long to get you well again." Marshall whispered to him. His paw stroked his burning hot forehead, and his heart tightened in his chest as he watched the poor boy try to take in a deep breath.

"We're not giving up. Even if... some of us don't want to do this... you need someone better than me. Someone who knows how to handle a human child."

The others smiled, knowing that Marshall was making the right choice. Marshall felt in his heart he was making the right choice, too- he was only a young pup, having just been newly promoted to medic without much training. This was beyond that scope of training he'd had, and he knew more than anything that a true professional had to care for their leader.

"Can someone call Farmer Yumi and let her know we need a lift to the emergency room?"

Rubble barked and gave a fake soldier's salute. "Rubble on the double!" he said in his usual upbeat manner, glad that something was finally beginning to work out. The others couldn't help but laugh a little, hearing the youngest's catchphrase bringing a bit of hope back in their hearts. He hopped off the bed and stepped to the side to give Yumi a call. Skye and Rocky looked at Marshall, who still seemed both scared and worried.

"You wanna go talk to him? Before she gets here?" Skye asked, fully understanding what was going through Marshall's usually empty head. Marshall just nodded.

"Can you guys find some clothes for Ryder?" he requested as he checked on the old garb Ryder had been clad in for four days straight. "These clothes are drenched and I don't think we can actually change him, not without hurting him by accident. He's also gonna want a bath, too. We'll ask Yumi to help us with changing him before we go to the hospital."

While Rubble, Skye and Zuma went about their tasks, Rocky approached Marshall with a absolute expression set on his face. "Listen, Marshall. I'm coming with you, to talk with Chase."

"Rocky, I-"

"No, Marshall. I don't want to hear 'you can handle him!' You saw what he just did and said, and judging from your expression earlier, he had said something to you along those lines as well." Rocky half hearted shot back, not wanting to make his friend feel worse. The instant silence and the small droop of his expression told Rocky all he needed to know.

"I-I mean, y-yeah... but-"

"Chase is hardheaded, and sometimes, even if he meant well, he says things that... well, that can hurt people and pups." Rocky hopped down from the bed and looked over his shoulder.

"I know you both have the hardest tasks- you having to care for Ryder's weird "flu", and Chase essentially the untrained leader. But that doesn't give him the right to act like he is. We both just need to let him know he's got us to help him out... and there may be some yelling involved."

Marshall smiled sheepishly as Rocky put a paw around his shoulder. "T-Thanks, Rocky... I really don't think I could have taken much more of the yelling." he admitted. Rocky chuckled and squeezed his shoulder a little.

"Come on, silly dally. Let's go have yet another conversation with our stubborn leader while we wait for Yumi."

* * *

 **And finally done! I swear... this chapter was so hard to write. I still don't like it too much, but if I edit this any longer, I'm going to go crazy! Does anyone else ever have that issue? Bridging one idea with another and the middle becomes so darn difficult to write?**

 **So just as a head's up, the next chapter will be known as an 'Interlude' (I've done it in my Mario fanfiction 'Threshold'.) This will cover what is going on with Ryder's thoughts as everything outside is occurring.**

 **Please let me know what you think (and even if it wasn't the best, do let me know. Trust me, I'm still annoyed at this particular chapter but I'm excited for the next one.)**

 **Until next chapter!**


	8. Interlude: Gone Are the Days

**Hello all!**

 **So to explain this particular chapter (and all future chapters, if applicable): This is known as an 'Interlude'- basically, an in-between chapter that kind of separates from the main story. I first started doing this in my Mario fanfiction 'Threshold', and I have to say, although it's still very much a work in progress, for me, it helps get more of my broad idea straightened out without jumping around from POV to POV (sometimes I can forget what POV I am on.)**

 **In this particular story, all interludes would be in Ryder's POV, and I'm planning to include mostly flashbacks as he fights his illness. Hopefully that makes sense- let me know if it doesn't via PM.**

 **With that, here we go!**

* * *

 **Caretaker**

 **Interlude Chapter 8-Gone Are the Days...**

 _A small boy happily played in a park with three people he knew better than his own hands. One of them, his loving, beautiful mother. Her warm blue eyes watched her son with a happy yet slightly saddened as she waved to him, hoping her 'little man' wouldn't grow up too fast. The light breeze moved strands of her medium length, curly brunette hair and she tucked them behind her ear as she laughed at the sight unfolding before her._

 _Running around chasing him was a man that the little boy referred to as 'Superman'- the strongest dad on Earth. The little boy looked exactly like him- dark brown, spiked up hair, and expressive brown eyes which made him look a bit younger than the almost 40 years he truly was. The only difference was the thick beard his dad sported, something the little boy was currently grabbing at as his father tackled him down, tickling him silly before an older boy, the big brother, leapt atop the father's back, howling like a wolf as he tried to tickle his father to save his poor defenseless brother._

 _The scene was so clear, so vivid in the mind of a fever-ridden Ryder. He could still remember the airy laughs of his mother, the deep, almost booming sounds of his father, and the mischievous yet gentle actions of his only older sibling._

 _It was so clear, it was painful._

 _He stood off to the side, staring at the flashback with a stone-cold expression. Despite the happiness he may of felt for them before, this time was different. He refused to cry for a family he felt abandoned him for all these years. He wouldn't cry for them again... he promised himself he wouldn't._

 _So why was he seeing them? Why was he being forced to remember them?_

* * *

 _That memory... was it a good one? Why would I remember something like that? Maybe its my fever, playing tricks on me. I cried too many tears for them and my brother. And I'm not angry at him- I understood why he left me, even if it hurt. But them... I can't forgive them. I don't need them. I will never need them._

 _It's so cold. Really, really cold. I try to push past it, past the nauseating feeling, past this... this deep, dark abyss I seem to be trapped in. My pups... they need me... I can't stay here!_

 _I stop struggling for a moment. No, it's not them who needs me. I need THEM. I need my family so badly right now. I'm scared... I'm alone and its cold and dark and I'm so scared because I don't know what's happening to me. All I know is that I need them, more than anything._

 _As if something heard my plea, a strange bright light appears. It blinds me temporarily before it's gone, and I freeze._

 _I see him. My older brother. I don't know what to do but stand there, staring at this older boy who is, without a doubt, my deceased older brother, Alekzander._

 _He's still the same mischievous kid I could remember when I was small, but he's aged just like I have. He's grinning at me as he plops his hand atop my head and messes with my hair. I don't fight him, I missed him more than anything._

 _I try to take in his features- his fair skin, similar to my own, his lanky body, his infectious smile, his messier, slightly longer brown hair, and his light brown eyes that were always full of life and light- there was never a time my brother was sad and down for longer than a few moments. He was my hero, larger than life, the light that brightened up any room he walked into, and intelligent to boot- the person who taught me everything I knew and who taught me to look beyond myself, to help those no matter how much I may want not want to, and to never stop being curious... no wonder Rocky took to me so quickly._

 _"A-Alekzander… please, wait! Wait!" I try and call out, but I still can't speak too loudly on account of my lost voice. He tilts his head as he gently pushes me away from him before he smiles one last time. My heart hurts at the sight... he was only a kid when he was killed. But this boy looks like he must be like fifteen now... is this what he would have looked like had he lived? Or is this what I think he would look like?_

 _"See ya later, little Ry. Take care of those pups, got me?" he says. "And don't forget to take care of you, too. You're all they have... don't let them down."_

 _His voice sounds oddly deep, but I chalk it up to him being much older in my head. This IS all in my head, right? It's because of my fever? But he feels real, though... even though I know he's dead. I know he's dead and gone._

 _Its the fever, it's playing tricks on me. But I still miss my brother. I want to take him to Adventure Bay, I want him to meet the pups- Rocky would love him, and the others would know who helped me become who I am..._

 _I try to reach him, but I can't. I fight and I fight, but he gets farther and father away, to a place I can never get to. A place he always told me in my dreams that I wasn't meant to be in._

 _"A-Alekzander! Please... come back, Alek... don't leave me again!" I could only plead with him in a raspy voice- my throat is still killing me._ _He looks over his shoulder and shakes his head before he completely vanishes from my sight. I fall to my knees, the disbelief slowly turning into complete sorrow. I just saw my brother for the last time and I didn't even say what I wanted to say!_

 _I'm once again floating in a feverish void, still trying to battle whatever is trapping me down here. I feel weird after seeing Alexander again- I feel angry, sad, happy, all at the same time. And I remember- my pups. My hardworking, happy, loyal, innocent, young pups, working even now to get me well again. I never told them about my past, about my family. It was never something that came up in conversation, and with the exception of Chase, I didn't ask much about their own past, either._

 _I need to see them, I need to let them know I'm okay thanks to them... I just need to hold them, tell them about my brother, let them know how much I apricate everything they've done. And then m_ _y thoughts drift to my closest pup- Chase. He would know how to calm me down._

 _Ever since I first found him in that alley, I knew me and him had some kind of connection. He was just like me- untrusting of most people, especially adults. It made me wonder what happened to him in his young life that robbed the innocence from him, the same way it was robbed from me._

 _As he began to realize I wasn't like the cruel world out there, and I began to realize that this pup could in fact understand my pain and my confusion, we grew close. Even before the PAW Patrol, even before the urge to care for people, we learned to open our hearts to someone other than ourselves. We taught each other that it was okay to feel how we felt, because we were only kids and the world seemed so... large, so willing to swallow us whole if we let it. It helped us to sort a lot of things out... except for me losing my brother._

 _Chase often snuggled in my chest whenever I was having nightmares, or when I was very scared or upset. He wasn't much of a talking pup- he would just silently crawl in my lap, whether I wanted him to or not, and his warm, large brown eyes would stare me down, waiting for me to get it out of my system. Once I was a bit calmer, he'd simply snuggle there until I was too relaxed or exhausted to fight him away._

 _Right now, and I'm still unsure if its my fever or not that's causing this like before, Chase in in my lap, and I'm holding onto him with everything I have. But this time, it's not just him. I have Marshall's emotional ball of fur pressed close to me left side, and Rubble's equally emotional self crying on my right. Zuma and Rocky are with Chase on my lap, looking at me with sad, wet eyes, Zuma offering a calming smile despite it all. And Skye, the sisterly pup of our group, is resting on my knees, her dainty paws supporting her head as she comforts Marshall and Rubble while comforting me all at once._

 _I smile, pressing my face in 'Chase's' neck. This feels real, even if it isn't. I know they're worried about me. I know they're scared of me getting hurt, especially after the first time I almost died... but I knew going into this field of work that it would be dangerous. I knew that for me, for all of them. I'm just as scared of losing any of them as they are of losing me. We're just children, and here we are saving adults who I swear have so little common sense it's a bit worrisome._

 _I smile down at the form of 'Chase', who looks just like my real police pup, right down to those warm brown eyes of his. Even though it's fake, I feel the need to say this anyways._

 _"Pups... please don't worry. I'm okay. I'm safe. It's just a cold, and I'll be alright in a few days." All six of them look at me, Marshall and Rubble's face completely dry of tears, and nod once. I release Chase, and they all begin to walk away._

 _As they begin to dissolve and disappear, I start to feel concerned. Should I be this sick? Is this normal? Should I be seeing images of a brother I lost, of a mother and father who up and abandoned me for no reason? Should my pups be here? Should I even be here, wherever here was?_

 _"I'm just going through a cold. It's nothing serious, Ryder." I tell myself, deciding I should try and sleep some more. I believe this fever is definitely screwing with my head, and I don't like that it's digging up memories I've had to fight so hard to suppress._

 _So I focus on getting well again. I'll wake up, I'll see my pups for real. I trust them, and they have Chase to lead in my absence. I know I'll be fine. Once I wake up, they'll be worried and cry and jump all over me and then I'll get better and go back to work. Yeah, that's what going to happen._

 _I once again get sent to that same scene. Me playing in the park with my big brother, my father and my mother. I couldn't have been no more than three or four, and Alexander, somewhere around seven, or eight. Or maybe nine...? I don't remember anymore. I can't really remember when he died, either._

 _The sun still feels warm, the laughter sill sounds light and free, my parents were there and happy, and my brother was whole and alive. I don't understand why I'm looking at this again, but all I can assume at this point is that it was a good memory. A time I spent playing with my family, before my parents took away any trust I had in them and adults in general. Before I lost the only true family I had. Before I had to grow up quickly and become a father, a mother and a brother to six young pups._

 _I sit down, watching the scene unfold with a small smile on my face, listening to my childhood as it played on. For now, I feel... happy. I don't feel like the world is on my shoulders. I still won't cry for them, but I can at least enjoy the happiness I felt when I was with them._

* * *

 **And done! I was struggling with the idea to include this chapter in the story, but I feel like it could work well with what I thought of, so I hope you all enjoyed it. The next chapter will resume where we left off from the main story.**

 **Please let me know what you think!**

 **Until next chapter!**


	9. Reason

**Hello all! With the first interlude chapter out of the way, it's time to resume the story.**

 **Please enjoy! I own nothing.**

* * *

 **Caretaker**

 **Chapter 9-Reason**

"Chase? Chase, please open the door- we need to talk." Marshall knocked on the pup house door for who knew how many times in the past twenty minutes. The same thing always happened- Chase refusing to open the door despite him being in the pup house, Marshall's hopes falling yet again, and Rocky... well, Rocky just trying not to snap and bang down the door.

For the most part, Rocky had long since lost his patience with Chase. Out of respect for Marshall, he bit back his words, but he couldn't stand seeing the dally so close to falling apart because his best friend had his head stuck in the clouds. So he stuck around for about ten minutes, then went to the restroom, checked in with Rubble, Skye and Zuma, then returned back to Marshall since he knew he had to update their medic on Ryder.

When he had returned, Marshall was slumped on the cold hard concrete, upset and defeated. Rocky bit his bottom lip- there was a LOT he was getting ready to say, whether Chase wanted to hear it or not, but he was also certain the words spinning around his head, said as it was- raw, unfiltered, no holding back- would get Chase angry enough to kill him. So he plopped next to Marshall quietly, still working out what he wanted to say in his mind. He stared at Marshall's defeated form and huffed out a long breath, raising his paw and opening his mouth to speak.

"Why won't he answer the door?" Marshall sadly wondered aloud. "I know he's in there, and he needs to talk to us!"

Rocky instantly shut his mouth and lowered his paw. He struggled with his words for a moment longer. "It- well, because- ah, Marshall..."

Patting his friend's head, he offered the most reassuring smile he could before his eyes flickered back to the tightly closed door. "Its Chase." He finally answered, uncertainty lacing his voice but needing a solid answer to their defecto leader's behavior. Even if it was an unsure one.

"Wh-what?" Marshall asked. "What... does that mean?"

Rocky hopelessly shrugged. I-I don't know, Marshall! I guess, maybe all this, I don't know-" he stopped when he realized he was rambling. But within the rambling, Rocky realized he had at least part of what he truly wanted to say finally planned out, and he smiled softly.

"Chase really does care, you know? He's always had a hard time showing it, well, showing ANY emotion, really. It's never been his strong suit. And with Ryder, the only person who knew how to translate that kind of pup down and out, I mean... Chase is just taking EVERYTHING hard. He's trying his best, really. It's just..."

Standing up and turning around to go inside, Rocky continued. "I guess what I'm saying is that maybe Chase just needs some time to process all this. He's been running around like he was Ryder for four days straight, and he's been taking care of us and making sure we're holding up alright. He never had much time to himself; maybe it's what he needs."

Marshall suddenly shot up, defiant and upset. "N-No! No! That's not what he needs, Rocky! That _can't_ be what he needs!"

Rocky was a bit startled and paused mid-way in his walking. "M-Marshall?"

"Chase, h-he... he's so... so STUPID! And he's so stubborn, it's... it's crazy!" Marshall had angry tears running down his cheeks, and Rocky was beginning to see that Chase wasn't the only one taking things hard for the past few days.

"Marshall, wait-"

"No! We are trying out BEST to help Ryder, and Chase seems to think WE can do it, that we can do it ALL! But we CAN'T, Rocky! Ryder is SICK- not normal sick, he's really, really SICK! This isn't something we can do ourselves, and I'm tired of having that looming over my head that if I don't stay there, if I don't-don't monitor him every minute, he could stop breathing or choke on something, or-or-"

Rocky slowly advanced forward, his new goal to get Marshall to his pup house to calm him down. "M-Marshall, that isn't-"

"I'm tired, Rocky! I'm tired of feeling like I'm not good enough, and I'm tired of Chase being such a stupid idiot that he can't see what's happening yet AGAIN! Ryder needs that hospital! It was because of that call Ryder was THIS close to death the day the accident happened!" Marshall brought his two front paws together until there was about two centimeters between them.

For a moment, there was nothing but the frustrated panting of Marshall and the near silent gasp of Rocky. He completely froze, the memory coming back hard despite hoping that it would never come back, despite hoping Marshall would never say those words... because he knew they were true, and he had no doubt that the stubborn pup locked in his pup house knew it, too.

"Marshall... I-I don't know what to say..." Rocky really didn't think there was anything he could say to make things better. Marshall felt a little better now that he ranted, but guilt quickly took over when he realized _what_ he had just said. Slowly, a paw raised to cover his mouth, his waterworks still running.

"I-I don't... I don't mean it. I didn't want to think it was true... but Chase saw that blood, too... h-he knew I couldn't do anything except make the pain less for him..." Marshall was whispering as the memories came back for him as well. "Chase should have let me taken him to the hospital right away, not stall for three whole days, Ryder was-"

The next thing Rocky knew, the pup house door flew open, a growling, dark brown blur flew past him, and two best friends were practically rolling around, both growling at one another.

"STOP! Just stop talking, Marshall!" Chase was snarling with rage as he slapped the dally across his face. "You have no idea what I'm dealing with! You _had_ no idea what I had to do then, either! And you think you're in the position to blame **_ME?!_** "

Marshall let out a scream as he pushed back against Chase, shoving him off before he charged after him, head butting him in the chest with all the power he could manage. "Well, you're not proving me wrong! Ryder could die again, and you're putting him through this for WHAT?! Huh, Chase?!" Struggling against the weight that suddenly slammed into his ribs, Marshall yelped as he rolled painfully in the grass, secretly thankful all those wipeouts strengthened his head and his back.

Chase was seething with anger, Marshall noted. He could feel it radiating off him. But Marshall wasn't deterred- in fact, it was the most emotion he'd seen with Chase and he was going to get some answers one way or another. He stood up, amazed he wasn't as hurt as he was expecting to be, and stared at Chase, trying to rein in his anger and slowly failing.

"Well?! Why are you acting so stupid, Chase?! Answer me!" Marshall demanded.

By now, Skye and Zuma has heard some of the commotion and had ran down to see what was happening. Upon seeing the two best friends growling at one another, Chase's teeth actually bared, Zuma felt scared- it was rare that Chase was that angry, and Marshall being upset was new altogether. He snapped out of the shock and raced forward, wondering what was happening and why no one was stopping them. That plan was halted when he felt something yank on his collar and tug him forcefully back. He stumbled and landed flat on his rear, and looked up at Rocky, whose expression wasn't making things any better.

"W-Wocky, wha-? A-Awe you CWAZY?! We need to stop this befowe some pup gets weally huwt!" Zuma exclaimed as he struggled against Rocky. The mixed pup was worried about two of his friends already, and refused to add a third one to the mix. He tugged harder on Zuma's collar, pushing the young flailing pup behind him.

"J-Just stay here, Zuma!" Rocky hissed. Zuma couldn't believe what Rocky was doing. Still struggling, Zuma looked to Skye for assistance, knowing those two were her closest friends and hoping she could make them stop before things got out hand.

"Skye, you know Chase will huwt him! Please, you have to stop this!" he pleaded. "Whatever it is, they shouldn't be-"

Skye shook her head and sided with Rocky, keeping Zuma away from them. She looked at them with a careful eye, view switching between the two growling pups.

"Its alright. They're too close to let this go on for much longer, and if it does, we'll stop them. Just give them a moment, you understand?" she explained. Zuma's jaw dropped in shock- of all the pups, he'd at least thought Skye would've seen that Marshall and Chase were beating on each other and stop it!

 _'Wyder's sick for a few days and evewyone just decides to beat up each othew?! What the heck is going on with those two?!'_

As for Chase, he was too angry to listen to his tired body. He didn't even feel tired anymore, not when Marshall kept pushing buttons he had no right to push. He ran at him again, tackling him and sending brown, white and black rolling into a growling and yelling furball. Zuma gasped and looked away, not wanting to see his friends fighting at a time like this.

"Aarrghhh! G-Get off me, Chase!" Marshall struggled to push the heavier pup off his chest, but Chase wasn't budging. He felt crushed under his weight and emotional stress, but somewhere in the back of his mind, Marshall suspected that wasn't even the tip of the iceberg. But he wouldn't know until he could get Chase to calm down.

"C-Chase! I-I can't breathe...! Get off!" Marshall gasped as he hit his side, his face, anywhere to get him to unpin him. "Chase, get OFF!"

Chase was still seeing red, but slowly, he could hear strange echoes and a funny noise that sounded a lot like...

"W-Wha… what..." Finally, Chase began to get off his rage. He blinked slowly, then turned his head a little to the left. Marshall was staring back at him, his paw at his throat as he tried to take in air that his lungs nearly stopped receiving for good. Chase groaned, his paw to his thumping head- and then he gasped as he remembered what had happened.

"W-Wait, Marshall, I-"

"Marshall!" His ears flattened against his head as he heard Rocky, Skye and Zuma yell out his best friend's name. They all ran over to them, Zuma looking Marshall up and down before he turned angrily to Chase. He stomped towards him, not knowing what he was going to do, but needing to do something.

"What the heck wewe you _thinking,_ Chase?!" Zuma demanded, his calm and laid back demeanor gone. "Wyder would punish you if he saw that! You'we our **_LEADER!_** Why did you attack Mawshall like that?!"

"W-Wa...Wait a moment, Zuma..." Marshall tried to interject. "You don't know-"

"Zuma's right!" Rocky jumped in. He'd had enough of Chase's attitude the past few days since Ryder fell ill. "Marshall's been trying to talk to you, you keep snapping at _ANYONE_ who suggests taking Ryder to a **_DOCTOR_** , and making poor choices isn't exactly that of a great leader! Not to mention you keep hiding some weird little secret that you need to explain to us right now!"

Chase shook his head at the angry accusations being thrown his way. "G-Guys, wait, I-" he tried again, but Zuma and Rocky were yelling and yelling and weren't letting him speak!

"SHUT UP FOR A MINUTE AND LET ME TALK!"

Zuma and Rocky both stopped. Chase was panting, the rage building up again. "If you just SHUT UP, I could explain something! But you keep getting on my case when I'm only doing what Ryder made me promise to him the last time!"

"Oh, really?" Rocky challenged sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "So what was this _oh so great secret_ Ryder asked you to keep? Hmmm?"

Skye pushed Rocky back when Chase started growling at him- although with her tiny stature, she had to ask Zuma to help her out- and Marshall placed a paw on Chase's shoulder and tugged on him hard.

"What?! What do you want! What the heck does everyone want from me!" Chase snapped, his paw thrown in the air in complete frustration. He roughly shrugged Marshall off and slunk off to his puphouse, leaving the tension thicker than ever amongst them. Marshall looked between the other pups and Chase, torn between who he should check on first. Rocky turned away from them, equally angry and tense, and headed for Rubble so he could check on Ryder and calm down. That left Skye, Zuma and a crestfallen Marshall.

"I-I don't... w-what just happened...?" Marshall wondered glumly. He let out a small whimper as he heard Chase slam his pup house door slam. "W-We were just supposed to talk to him! Now he... he's just going to take on everything all by himself..."

Before either Skye or Zuma could answer, Rubble's voice came over. "Guys, Farmer Al and Farmer Yumi are almost here. They're gonna drive Ryder to the hospital. Marshall, Yumi said she needs all the notes you took on Ryder's flu so she can give it to the doctor. I don't remember where they are, though-"

"Hang on, Rubble. We'll be up soon." Skye quickly replied before ending the call. Jerking her head, Skye silently urged Zuma to go back upstairs and check on Rocky. Zuma stole one last sad look at them both before he headed off.

"Marshall... Rocky, he-"

His head shot up, and he looked at her with anger re-sparked in his eyes. "Rocky and Zuma shouldn't have yelled at him! He had a reason for what he did, and Ryder clearly trusted him to keep that secret because of that!" he snapped. Skye's eyes widnened a little but she didn't reply or flinch. Marshall quickly reeled in his attitude when he realized he was snapping at the wrong pup.

"... sorry, Skye. I didn't mean to sound like that."

Skye didn't know what had happened prior to her and Zuma running downstairs. She bit her lip as she tried to think of something that could comfort him. "M-Marshall... I don't know what to say..." she quietly settled on as she looked away. Marshall briefly glanced at her and let out a long sigh, getting up and shaking off some more loose dirt before he walked past her and back to the Lookout.

"Come on. We've gotta get things ready for Yumi."

* * *

The pups had everything ready- a bag filled with a change of clothes, socks and shoes for Ryder, along with all the notes Marshall, Skye and Rocky had taken over the four days they had monitored him. Each pup was some level of nervous and a bit scared as the reality finally set in- Ryder was that bad that he needed to be in a hospital again!

Marshall hastily barked away his thermometer and told Rocky the new temperature. "Grrr!" he growled. "It's going up! Now it's at 103.4!"

The others couldn't do anything more until Yumi and Al arrived. The way Ryder was squirming in bed, moaning and mumbling in his twilight slumber made Marshall in particular worry. "It's not normal... no one should have a fever that high and still be-"

"Don't say it, Marshall." Rocky warned. He, too, was worried- Ryder's fever kept fluctuating but wouldn't go down, and with no voice, the pups wondered how they were able to even care for him up until now. "We... we can see that he's pretty bad. Thanks to a certain _someone..._ " he angrily mumbled the last part. Marshall eyed Rocky warily.

"Come on, Rocky. Ease up on him, alright?" Rocky huffed but didn't say a word more. Just then, they heard a loud car horn, and Farmer Al's worried voice.

"Yuuuumi! Wait up, honey! Please wait for me!"

"Hurry up, Al! Ryder sounded pretty bad and we can't waste a second!" Yumi was pretty focused as she jogged the short distance to the entrance of the Lookout. Rubble hopped off the bed and headed for the control room to open the door.

"Farmer Yumi! I opened the door- take the elevator to the third floor, and then make a right! Ryder's room door is open!" Rubble called from his tag. Yumi followed the directions, and in no time, she arrived. Rubble arrived a few minutes later, gasping for air as he had to run at the fastest speed possible to get back to the bedroom.

"Ryder! Oh my goodness..." she whispered, her hand covering her mouth in shock. She knew Ryder had been unwell, but the last time she physically saw him was nearly five days ago.

Now, as she walked into the room and really took the poor boy's weak, terrible state in, she scolded herself for not coming up sooner, for not pushing the pups to get him to a proper doctor. _'They're only children, the pups are just children! Even though Marshall is their medic, he wouldn't know about anything this severe... why didn't they tell me sooner so I could drive him to the hospital?'_

"Hey, Farmer Yumi..." Marshall felt relieved, a LOT of stress melting off his shoulders just by seeing her here. Now with an adult here, Ryder could get the care he desperately needed. "Ryder hadn't eaten in three days- the last time he tried to eat your soup, he got sick and threw it all up. None of us can get anything in him, and his fever... it's climbing up little by little."

"Is that so?" She whispered sadly as she knelt next to his bed. She placed a hand on his forehead, and almost instantly, Ryder leaned into the touch. Marshall smiled slightly. "Yeah... that's the most he's able to manage. His voice is shot, too, and... well, it's a LONG list."

Yumi's worry level increased. "Pups... I don't understand. What happened? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

All five pups hesitated before looking away in various directions, none answering her or looking her in the face. Rocky made to open his mouth, but Marshall's near death stomp on his paw, followed by a warning glare, once again made him reconsider his words and his mouth snapped shut. The mixed breed rolled his eyes and huffed quietly in place.

Their discomfort told her something had happened, and it became far more apparent when she noticed a pup was missing. "Hold on. Where's Chase? Isn't he acting leader? How come he isn't here?"

Rocky's twitching eye caught Yumi's attention, and the strange, tense aura she was feeling told her something not so pleasant happened, something that was probably going to take longer to explain that what she had time to for.

"...alright then. You pups need to explain that to me later. Right now, Al's waiting for a sick little hard worker, so let's get him all set, understand?"

Suddenly, like a switch, the aura around the pups flipped into their more normal professional selves. They scrambled to get their vests and pup packs on so they could meet up with Al outside. All except for Marshall, who was trying to rouse Ryder awake to at least fill him in on what was happening, even if he was too trapped in his fever to really process it.

"Uurgh... wha'yawa't..." Ryder mumbled softly, his eyes still closed. Marshall lightly giggled at the odd structured sentence before he licked his cheek.

"Hey, Ryder. I know you're exhausted, but can you open your eyes for me? Farmer Yumi's here." Marshall whispered in a soothing manner, not wanting to increase whatever pain the poor boy might be in. Ryder tried his best to open his eyes, but it was too much energy his ill-ridden body did not have.

"...too... 'ire..." Ryder turned his head away from him and tried to go back to Dreamland. Marshall whined sadly and nuzzled his cheek.

"Come on, Ryder. Just for a moment, and then you can go back to sleep, alright?" Marshall pleaded. "Please? For me?"

Ryder tried again, somehow hearing words that sounded like begging. He really wanted to see what was going on out there, he wanted to see his pups, but he was so, so exhausted. Whatever this illness was, it was worse than even the flu, he was convinced. After a few more feeble attempts, eyelids finally fluttered open, brown orbs barely visable. Ryder whimpered in pain- the little light that was in the room felt like it was burning his eyes out. He wanted to shut them again, but a paw touched his cheek.

 _'A... p-paw... pups... m-my pups... Mar... shall... is... that you?'_ Ryder knew that his thoughts weren't really sensible. He didn't care. He just felt a paw and knew his pups needed him. He needed to be there already, darn it! Why wouldn't his body listen to him?!

"M...ar... shall?" Ryder's voice was so soft and raspy Yumi almost missed it. She realized just how bad Ryder was and nodded to Marshall to update him since he seemed to recognize him the most. Marshall swallowed back his heartbreak at seeing the poor boy fighting just to keep his eyes open and leaned close to his ear.

"We're taking you to the hospital, understand? You're very sick and need more help." he started. "Farmer Yumi and Farmer Al are going to drive us there. Just hang on and stay strong, Ryder. Alright?"

As he pulled back, Marshall waited to see if anything he said clicked into Ryder's brain. Ryder's head slowly moved to look at Marshall's general direction, and he stared blankly at him. Marshall shuddered- why did it seem like Ryder's eyes were looking _through_ him, not _at_ him...?

 _'That look on his face... it's so... creepy... like he's seeing something in me or behind me or whatever! Creeeeeeppyyyy!'_ he sung in his head. "Uhhh… R-Ryder...?"

"H-Hosp...ital... b-bad... place..." Ryder breathed. "Don'... w-wanna... wanna go..."

Marshall looked at Yumi. Yumi didn't waste any time- she collected the overnight bag the pups packed for the boy, stuck the information about his condition inside of it, and wrapped Ryder in the dirty blanket he'd been living under for the last five days. "Let's go. Ryder's starting to sound strange."

"Y-Yeah..." Marshall hopped off the bed and jogged after her, tripping a bit over his two front paws and falling down, but thankfully not hurting himself a second time.

"Tehehe! Don't worry, I'm good, Farmer Yumi!" he assured her as he faked a smile. Yumi flashed one back before she hustled out of the room with patient in tow. Once she left, Marshall frowned.

"Ryder said the hospital was... a bad place? Why would he say that?" He mused to himself, concerned that the fever was messing with his head. "I wonder if that was what Chase was talking about. Speaking of which, we _should_ call him... but he's going to be so angry we defied him."

As soon as he gathered his bearings, he sprinted out of the room and met up with the other pups. Rubble was driving his construction rig, and Skye, Zuma and Marshall were going to ride with Yumi and Al.

"Hey, guys? What about Chase?"

"He hates doctors and places like the hospital. We'll call him later- let's hurry and get Ryder some help!" Rocky answered, sounding more irked than inpatient. Yumi and Al looked at each other, and Yumi could only shrug. She still felt something was very wrong, and Chase was at the center of it, but there wasn't time to worry about any of it.

Al turned on the ignition, and Yumi carefully positioned Ryder close to her and kept the blanket wrapped as tightly as she could manage. Zuma and Marshall flanked either side of Yumi and Ryder, and Skye hopped in the passage seat. Rubble pulled out of his parking space and stopped alongside the red pickup.

"Step on it, Al!" Yumi ordered. The usually clumsy farmer fixed his farmer's cap, adjusted his mirror, and burned rubber as he drove down to the bridge, razor focused as Rubble followed close behind. He quickly stole one glance over his shoulder at the retreating Lookout Tower and shook his head.

"Chase, I sure hope you come to your senses soon! Ryder needs you there, too!"

* * *

 **And complete! I'm not the best at writing bickering/arguing scenes, and I've seen so many talented authors do it and make it look so easy! Even so, I'm hoping I at least made this readable for you.**

 **Side note, I'm also doing an origin story right after this little project as well, so I do hope you'll stick around for that!**

 **Please leave your thoughts, comments, concerns, advice, etc.**

 **Until next chapter!**


	10. A Small Break

**Hello all! Before I begin, yet again, thank you all for the love you have shown this story! I'll be doing a proper thank you at the very end of the story, but I really wanted to express my gratitude- I'm really glad I began writing in this fandom and meeting such wonderful authors/readers!**

 **With that, please enjoy!**

* * *

 **Caretaker**

 **Chapter 10- A Small Break**

It should've taken about 45 minutes to get to the Adventure Bay Emergency Center. But with light traffic and the shortcuts Al somehow knew about, they arrived there in about 20 minutes instead. Once he haphazardly parked in a spot, Al helped Yumi with Ryder, and the pups all hopped out after them.

"Al, get a wheelchair! I can't get Ryder to stand up!" Yumi ordered as she struggled to get the ill boy out of the car. Ryder was drifting in and out of consciousness, and he was mumbling things Yumi couldn't seem to understand.

"R-Ryder? You still with me?" Yumi checked as she brushed his forehead. She could see slithers of glazed over brown eyes and worried- his fever was either really getting worse or there was some other underlying issue no one was aware of. He felt like a limp noodle, and while she wasn't expecting the boy to have a conversation, the near silent mumbling and other times gaps of silence was beginning to unnerve her.

"F-Farmer Yumi?" Rubble whimpered, staring up at the bundle in her arms. "I-Is Ryder going to be alright?"

Yumi didn't know how to answer that. He shouldn't have gotten to this state in just five days! _'What kind of cold puts a person out of commission like this?'_ she wondered. Looking into the wide, worried eyes of the poor bulldog, she decided to be honest in her answer.

"I... I don't really know right now, Rubble. But we're not letting Ryder down. He'll be okay once he's inside. And we should all be here for him. He'll need the support." She frowned. "Including Chase. Where is that pup, anyways?"

Zuma and Skye glanced at one another- they kind of forgot about earlier. "Well you see, Marshall and Chase got into-"

Skye was cut off when Al yelled from the entrance, a wheelchair and two nurses waiting for them. Yumi scooped Ryder into her arms and began to make a beeline for them. Marshall ran past them and met up with the others.

"Marshall? What's going on?" Rocky questioned. Marshall shrugged.

"I have no idea- Al said something to one of those ladies, then they all kinda just... raced out here." He sat down and looked over his shoulder. The others followed their gaze as Ryder was carefully lowered into the wheelchair, but slumped almost as soon as Yumi slipped her arms from around hm. His head lolled lifelessly to the left, and his eyes were just barely open. The pups whined and huddled close together.

"I-It's been a while... since we've had to come back here, hasn't it." Rocky muttered. "I hate seeing Ryder look so helpless..."

"B-But that nice lady from before is here and she'll take care of Ryder!" Rubble paused, not hearing any confirmation and with worry filled eyes added, "R-Right?"

"It's just like last time. Wyder was helpless and so wewe we..." Zuma whispered, inching closer to Rocky and Rubble. "W-What awe we supposed to do...?"

Marshall didn't say anything, his eyes narrowed as the nurses raced inside, the farming couple right behind them. "I don't even know anymore. Ryder's here, so we have to be here, too... it's all we can do." he answered. Zuma whined and pressed closer to Rocky and Rubble. Marshall sat down and massaged his head- it was starting to hurt from all the stress and thinking. Trying to ignore it, he walked away to try and contact Chase yet again.

Skye's heart went out to the youngest pups as she did her best to comfort all of them. Rocky wasn't saying much, just had Zuma pulled to him, rubbing his shoulders. Rubble was whimpering, staring at the entrance of the emergency room. Skye placed her paw atop his head and began to gently rub it, hoping to at least calm him.

 _'Poor pups... Zuma and Rubble, they've been trying to keep up with everything but its a lot for them. Well, it's a lot for all of us, and I suppose its different for each of us. Marshall and Chase, though... I'm so worried about those two. They're closest with Ryder and yet they probably feel that they're letting him down.'_

Skye stood, wondering if they could go inside to see Ryder. "Well, its more like we're letting him down, I guess." she mumbled to herself. She spotted Marshall standing off to the side, talking quietly into his pup tag. Her face fell- she knew he was no doubt trying to get ahold of Chase.

 _'Seriously, Chase, what's going on with you? Ryder needs you here more than anything, but you're acting so weird!'_ Walking over to him, she placed her paw on his back so he wouldn't be startled. "Any luck?" she asked. Marshall shook his head no, huffing in frustration.

"He won't pick up. I think one of us should head back and talk to him, pup to pup." Skye agreed, but she knew Zuma and Rubble weren't in the best mindset to do it, and Rocky and Chase... she shuddered. _'Rocky and Chase might tear each other's throats out before the talking even happens!'_

Marshall opened his mouth to speak, when all of a sudden, all their pup tags went off at once. Marshall answered first.

'Hello? Cha-'

 _'Guys, someone needs to get back here now. Capt'n Turbot just called- Wally and Walinda's baby got trapped in some stray trash under the water, and she's hurt.'_ Chase ordered as he got his gear and transformed his pup house. Marshall was a bit annoyed that he was not only cut off, but chase was clearly ignoring him. He wasn't planning on letting this one go.

'Chase, what is with you?! I tried to call you earlier and you just ignored me?!' Marshall snapped. Chase stopped in his tracks at the accusation. He bowed his head and closed his eyes.

 _'No, Marshall. I wasn't... trying to ignore you.'_ he replied softly. _'I just... got lost in my thoughts for a while. I'm sorry, I didn't hear my pup tag go off.'_

'Then how on earth-'

 _'I was about to come down there. To meet you guys. When I put my tag on, Turbot rang me.'_ Shaking off the emotion threatening to overtake him again, Chase got back into professional mode, hopping into his police car and getting ready to make a beeline for Seal Island, when Marshall asked a question that proved Chase's head still wasn't all there.

'What?! B-But Ryder's at the hospital- he needs us here!' Marshall argued. 'Who do you _actually_ need with you, because if you can handle it yourself, then do it!'

Chase growled- was Marshall seriously about to argue with him on this?! Then he paused- who _did_ he need on this mission? He didn't even check the monitor upstairs for the details yet! _'Uhhhh… h-hang on, let me check...'_ the police pup grumbled as he made his way upstairs, parking his truck a few feet from its normal space. Skye tapped Marshall and signaled she was going inside to update the other pups on what was happening, as well as check in on Ryder.

Once she left, Marshall walked over to the entrance and plopped down with a heavy sigh. Chase heard him over his tag and bit his lip-did he have a right to ask how Ryder was doing? _'Probably not any better since he was taken down there...'_

'...Chase?'

 _'Hmm? What?'_

Marshall looked up at the sky- it was dark and the stars twinkling made the dally pup smile a little. He wished things were a bit different-Ryder would have had a outdoor sleepover and stargazing and...

 _'Marshall? You there? Everything alright?'_ Chase was nervous when he didn't hear anything other than breathing on the other end. He had reached the mission control room, and was checking the screen to figure out where Capt'n Turbot was, as well as pinpointing Wally and Walinda's location.

'Y-Yeah, I'm here. I'm fine... it's you I'm worried about.'

Chase didn't stop what he was doing. He knew for sure he would need Zuma's help to dive under and help free Walinda's child, and Marshall would have to be on hand to help patch up whatever wounds she may of had. Chase would clear out the street leading to the docks. But he listened to his worried best friend and knew he needed to tell him what he'd been up thinking about, about his behavior earlier, all of it.

 _'Listen, Marshall. I promise, once this is done and over with, I'll tell you. Honestly, it might help. You know, thinking clearly or whatnot.'_ The police pup shrugged. _'But I need you and Zuma's help right now to save Walinda and Wally's baby.'_

'Chase...' Marshall felt weird just dropping off Ryder in the hospital.

' _The faster we do this, the faster we'll be back to be with Ryder. But I know him. If the people need help, he wouldn't hesitate to do it! So we've got to do the same- its our jobs!'_ Chase tapped his tag twice, called Zuma and filled him in on what was going on. Zuma was also very unsure about leaving, but just like he told Marshall, Chase promised him they would head back as soon as the rescue was over. Zuma ran outside to meet Marshall and the two pups hurried as fast as they could to the Lookout.

"I-I guess, its okay. Farmer Yumi and Farmer Al are there, and so are Rocky, Skye and Rubble." Marshall tried to reason with his doubtful mind. "They'll ring us if anything bad happens with Ryder."

"I know, but... it feels wong not being thewe with him!" Zuma looked conflicted. "I just hope nothing bad happens. Let's huwwy home so we can finish this, 'kay Mawshall?"

* * *

Inside, Rocky, Rubble and Skye, along with the farmer couple, waited anxiously in the waiting area as Ryder was being checked in. Rocky couldn't stop pacing, and Skye comforted Rubble as the duo stared at nothing in particular. The smell of the hospital was starting to turn Rubble's stomach, so he focused on Rocky's movements. The husband and wife were no better, holding each other for support as they looked out for the nurse who took Ryder to a curtain-drawn room.

The head nurse was worried about Ryder. He looked pale, far paler than his normal skin complexion should have allowed, and his breathing was shallow. She didn't like the high fever he was sporting, either- from what she understood as the two people filled out his hospital work, he'd had it for five days straight, and something told him he was cooking his insides.

She ran her fingers down his legs, frowning. The scars on his legs appeared to have healed over, and they seemed oddly neat- she hummed in thought. She would need to ask about that, she quickly logged in her head. Her assistants finished hooking Ryder to several machines and putting in an IV to help with his apparent dehydration before she had blood drawn for testing.

As a blanket was covered over him, the head nurse gently rested her hand on his forehead. "I'm not sure who you are or what your story is, but whatever is ailing you, we'll put an end to it. It's a shame, though."

She stepped back and motioned for the nurse assistants to wheel Ryder to his new home before picking up his chart and heading out to meet the others. "You're so young, and to have those kinds of scars... how is that possible? Who is raising you, for you to have such injuries?"

Then she stopped, remembering what she'd seem in his chart. "Well, they say that he's alone, and he cares for six puppies himself, but how? You need a job to afford food and water and shelter for them, and how on earth- there are way too many questions and not enough answers."

She entered the waiting room and headed for Farmer Yumi. They stood up in a hurry, but the head nurse told them to have a seat so they could discuss Ryder's condition. It was then she noticed three small pups next to Farmer Al. One was hiding behind his leg, whimpering in fear. The other two seemed afraid but not as likely to show it, as they were sitting a bit away from them.

"Are you the ones who brought Ryder in?"

Farmer Yumi and Farmer Al nodded, and the head nurse motioned for them to follow her so that they could discuss Ryder in person. The pups looked at one another, wondering what was going on, and Rocky decided to ask a question.

"Ummm, excuse me?" He tilted his head. "Is Ryder going to be alright?"

The head nurse blinked- she wasn't expecting the pups to actually talk to her. "D-Did he just...?"

"Yes, my name is Rocky. This is Rubble and Skye, and we're Ryder's family." Rocky then narrowed his eyes. "You... you're not the same one who took care of Ryder before. Are you a new nurse?"

Yumi bent down and gave Rocky a loving pet on his head before she looked at the bewildered nurse. "I'm sorry. This is actually Ryder's second time here. The last time they were here there was another nurse who took care of him; I'm assuming she no longer works here?" she explained.

The head nurse shook her head. "Sadly, I do not know which nurse it was- I did not get the chance to look over Ryder's chart yet. He's going to be in intensive care until we pinpoint the source of his illness." she explained as she pointed down the hall. "It's on the eighth floor; shall we get going?"

Yumi and Al didn't need to think long on that answer. She looked at Rocky and the other pups, who seemed conflicted about something, but decided to let it go for now.

"Come on, Rocky. Let's go to Ryder first, and then maybe we can get some questions answered, what do you say?" she suggested. Rocky could only nod- he was anxious, having to see Ryder in a hospital bed again.

"Guys, you think the others are okay? It seemed like something serious was going on with the captain." Rubble asked. Skye didn't really know all the details of the rescue, just that Chase needed Marshall and Zuma's help.

"I'm sure they'll be fine. Chase will make sure of it." she tried to sound confident, but she knew Rocky still had some issues that they needed to iron out. From the corner of her eye, she saw Rocky's expression shift into the irritated look and sighed- they were good friends, but by the pup treats, were they ever stubborn when angry!

 _'All that will have to wait. First, we need to see how Ryder's condition really is. I just hope they can get back here soon...and that nothing else happens to Ryder, either. I think we've all had enough for one night.'_

* * *

Chase was so focused on driving down to Seal Island, he nearly drove right into the bay. Luckily, Zuma was able to stop him and get him and Marshall a lift out to the location indicated on his hovercraft. Marshall would often glance at him, worried about his best friend's state of mind but still not sure how to approach the topic.

"Marshall..." Chase sighed; he could feel puppy-dog eyes boring into the back of his head, and he felt both guilty for his actions up until now, and a bit of gratefulness for having such a friend to worry about him. "I'm alright. Really. Just... it's been a long night. For all of us, really."

"Yeah, but we're not hiding out in our pup house all alone!" Marshall exclaimed before he lowered his voice. "Please, Chase? Could you just talk to me? We've got some time before we get to the lighthouse."

Chase looked at Marshall and tilted his head a little. "You are something else, silly dally." He chuckled under his breath when Marshall sputtered, pouted, then whined about being called a 'silly dally' during what should have been a serious conversation. Zuma could hear their conversation and had to stifle his own laugh- it was nice to have things go smoothly for a change.

 _"Anyway..."_ Marshall started, still pouting a little, "Are you gonna tell us what's really going on, Chase? Rocky's about ready to chew you out, and its rare you two butt heads like this."

Chase had a feeling Rocky had lost his patience awhile back, especially after what he'd said to him earlier. _'Well, he's lost his patience and his trust in me. Though I suppose I kind of had it coming. I should've just told them all the truth...'_

"Chase?"

Finally resigned to his fate, Chase opened his mouth to speak- just as Zuma called out that they had arrived to Seal Island, and they found the captain and the two worried walruses. Snapping his mouth shut, Chase let out a breath of relief- he seriously managed to dodge a bullet!

Marshall looked between the captain and his best friend before he stomped over to Chase and jabbed a paw in his face. "You're not getting out of this one- after this rescue is over, you're _going_ to talk to me!" he demanded before he raced off Zuma's hovercraft. Chase was left a bit in awe and a little scared- Marshall never sounded that forceful before.

"I'm really sorry, Marshall, guys." Chase ran after them, his self-doubt creeping up in his chest again. He wasn't really sure how things were going to turn out, but he hoped that nothing else could go wrong and they could all get some rest. It was just going to be a simple search and rescue- Turbot was worried because the baby walrus had apparently gotten snagged on some stray plastic soda holders while swimming around with the wildlife, and long story short, she was injured while trying to find her way back home.

"Alwight! Let's dive in!" Zuma shouted as he dove in the water to find their friend. Turbot comforted the worried parents before asking about Ryder's well being.

Marshall sighed. "We finally had to take him to the hospital- his fever was too high and he was getting pretty bad. Farmer Yumi and Farmer Al are with the others there now." he explained. To keep his brain occupied lest he suffer another breakdown, Marshall took out a few medical supplied he "thought" he would need to treat the little one- lots of bandages, gauze, sterile wipes, a dry towel, and some pain reliving cream.

Captain Turbot could see the stress bogging down on the two pups- Marshall seemed very unlike his cheery self, and Chase seemed really, really tense. He was scanning the ocean with a tired, yet careful eye as he communicated with Zuma down below.

Zuma managed to find the baby, and he was in the progress of untangling her from the plastic and trash wrapped about her. He noticed that there was a small amount of blood tricking out from a gash on her right fin, and she was in pain when he touched it. He signaled to her that he was close to getting her free, and patted her head lovingly before he resumed his work.

After a few minutes, Zuma surfaced with the crying but relived walrus pup, and once Marshall looked her over, patched up her injury, and gave the okay to head back with the family, the three pups didn't hesitate to return back to the hospital. As they did, all of them, starting with Marshall, let out long, long yawns. Zuma rubbed his eyes as all the exhaustion finally hit him a bit hard.

Marshall didn't care how tired he was. He needed to know what was going on, why Chase was acting so unlike himself, why every pup seemed to think the end was near for Ryder! "... Chase. You said you-"

"Later, Marshall. I'm going to keep my promise, but let's just get to Ryder." Chase was worried- was he alright? Did he get worse? _'I should've went with him- he's never been afraid of places like this, and I know that but this time, its so scary because he's so close to- no. NO. Ryder's just really sick. But this is something else... I just need to be there, and I'll apologize to everyone when I get there this time.'_

* * *

 **And complete!**

 **Well, that took far longer than I thought. I think I like how this came out. At least the pups got a small break, for now.**

 **Please let me know what you all think, and again, thank you for sticking around!**

 **Until next chapter!**


	11. Treatment

**Hello all! On with the next chapter!**

 **Before I continue, I'd like to give a quick thank you to PupPupGo for their review! I'm super glad I'm keeping you interested (with stories this long I always worry when I feel like people begin to lose interest), and my sporadic updating usually doesn't make things better), and I feel you- I've been a bit unimpressed with the recent episodes of Season 5, and I'm not sure how they plan on doing Season 6, but I still want to keep up hope the show will improve. Again, I'm glad you're enjoying the story, and thank you! **

**Please enjoy! I own nothing except the nurses of this story.**

* * *

 **Caretaker**

 **Chapter 11-Treatment**

As Chase, Marshall and Zuma travelled back to the hospital after the early morning rescue, the others got news about Ryder's condition.

"So, here's what we have so far." The head nurse prepared to explain before she gasped and stood, extending her hand with a warm smile.

"I'm so sorry, I forgot to properly introduce myself. My name is Cynthia Rosenburg. I'm in charge of the nurses who will be taking good care of Ryder." she said. Yumi and Al returned the smile in kind and once all introductions were out of the way, they resumed to their sick patient. Rubble, Rocky and Skye all hopped atop Ryder's bed and curled at his feet, sadly looking at their handler as the nurse spoke.

"Ryder's condition is actually not too uncommon, and it's pretty treatable." Cynthia began. At the sound of that, the pups all let out a sigh of relief- Ryder would be fine after all. "It appears that he's fighting off a bad case of strep throat, which caused his severe dehydration, his high fever, and his low blood pressure and heart rate." She flipped a few pages and continued. "It would have been better for him to receive treatment sooner, but I believe he'll be just fine once we get him started on some medication."

Cynthia flipped to the next portion of his chart, her expression becoming concerned. "However, I am a bit curious- and worried- about the lack of information about his background. The only thing I have here, besides a... 'Marshall's notes'?"- She was definily confused about that-" is that Ryder was involved in an accident about a year and a half ago. His left leg was severely injured and required surgery, yet it says here that he wasn't admitted for almost five days after the initial accident occurred."

Rocky and Skye shared a look. "Well, that... that's kind of a long story..." Cynthia peered at him, more confused than ever.

"And you are...?"

"I'm Rocky. This is Skye and Rubble. There's Zuma, Marshall and Chase, but they'll be back soon." Rocky casually explained. "They're rescuing our friend Walinda and Wally's walrus pup right now."

"I-I'm sorry, what?" Cynthia stammered. "Rescuing? B-But you look like-"

"Pups? Yeah, 'cause we are." Rocky stood up and pointed at his pup tag." We're the PAW Patrol- we help anyone who yelps for help. Ryder's our leader, the best in the town. Maybe even the world, because there's no one like him."

If Cynthia wasn't shocked before, she definitely was now. Sure enough, Skye and Rubble were nodding in agreement with him, and Cynthia saw their vests- they looked like something out of a TV show. She then noted Rubble and Skye's pup tags, and Skye's googles atop her head. There was a LIST of questions she was going to ask Ryder once he woke up, and she jotted that down in his charts. Rocky was curious to know what she was writing, but she began speaking before he could ask.

"Okay, Ryder will need to stay here for at least a week, and we will be doing tests to make sure there isn't anything we are missing. But so far, besides a bad case of strep and what sounds like a nasty upper respiratory infection, Ryder seems like he's fairly healthy for a boy his age-" Cynthia paused. She had just gotten to Ryder's date of birth and had to do a double take- that wasn't right, was it?

"I-I'm sorry, but can I ask a question?" Yumi and Al nodded.

"Exactly how _old_ is Ryder? Him being the leader of the PAW Patrol, was it? Surely he must be at least fourteen?"

"He's 10 years old." Yumi answered. "He turns 11 in August."

Cynthia couldn't believe what she was hearing. Not only was a ten year old caring for six pups who seemed to be doing the work of grown adults, but they seemed to be professionals at it as well! "Does Ryder live with you, Yumi and Al?"

"Nope. He lives with the pups at the Lookout Tower 'cross town." Al chuckled. "They've gotten me out of some tight spots, let me tell ya! Same with my lovely wife here." Al finished with a hug and kiss. Cynthia didn't know what to say, but she took that information down as well.

"Okay, I think that's everything I have. I'll need to do an allergy test on Ryder since I'm not sure-"

"Ryder's not allergic to anything." Skye interjected. "We should know; Marshall had him checked a long time ago."

Cynthia blinked before she realized Skye was talking to her. "He's not? Well, I would still like to do one just to be safe. I don't want to risk him getting worse." She made some last minute notes, thanked the pups, then ushered the adults out of the room and told the pups that she would be back in a few moments. Once she shut the door, Rocky and Skye tilted their heads, wondering what was all the hurry about.

"That was... weird." Skye commented. "She's definitely not the same lady from before, that's for sure. I wonder what happened to her..."

"Beats me. We told her everything about Ryder, and we know Ryder better than anyone!" Rocky shrugged. "Speaking of which, I think we better check on the others. They need to know what's going on." Rocky tapped his pup tag.

"Hey, Chase? Marshall, Zuma? Any pup there?"

 _"Chase here. What's going on?"_ Rocky had to bite his tongue- he was still a bit pissed off at Chase, but he had to be sensible. Ryder was right here, and like Zuma had said, Ryder wouldn't like if they kept bickering and not working things out.

 _"Hello? Is anyone there?"_ Chase wondered why the line suddenly went silent. He heard a heavy sigh and his insides coiled- did something bad happen to Ryder? Was he getting worse?

"Chase, it-its Rocky. Where are you guys?" Rocky tried to keep his voice level. "The nurse lady, Cynthia I think? She wants to talk to Marshall about that accident from before. Well, she really wants to talk about Ryder's "lack of background"... sheesh, its weird- all that should have been there from before!"

Chase was confused but he knew Rocky was trying not to curse him out at the same time. He tried to keep professional as well. _"Really? That is weird. But we're on our way back now- we should be there in about ten minutes. Umm, R-Rocky? About Marshall..."_

Rocky frowned. "What? What did you do?"

Chase knew he had that accusation coming. _"I-I'm being an idiot, is what. Marshall's kinda mad at me too, so just... take it easy with him, please?"_ he pleaded. Rocky rolled his eyes- those two were really best friends. Even when one was angry at another, they had to beg everyone to be nice to them, to talk to them like normal... it was both very adorable and a bit strange.

"Alright, I will. And, uh, Chase... listen."

 _"Yeah?"_

"... I'm sorry. For acting like a jerk." Rocky laid down, staring at Ryder as he stroked his hand. Next to him, Skye smiled proudly and patted his back, before telling Rubble to come with her so they could get something to eat. "I shouldn't be acting like this... it wasn't fair to you and its not fair to Ryder. He needs us to stick together and I guess... I was a bit hurt that Ryder would have you keep a secret from us. I thought... you know..."

Chase was quiet, listening to his words. " _Rocky, It's alright. I'm sorry, too. I know you're all worried about Ryder, and I should've just told you the truth from the beginning. And we are family. Always have been, always will be. I'll explain it all when I get there but the bottom line is Ryder does NOT like to be in hospitals. At ALL."_

Rocky tilted his head- that was the great big secret? "Wait... wait, wait, WHAT?!" he yelled a bit loud, before remembering Ryder needed his rest.

Chase winced- did he have to do that right in his ear? "Y-Yeah, that's the basis of it. Like I said, it's kind of a confusing story, to be honest. Long and confusing. But, uh, yeah. Ryder hates them more than I hate the dentist... and that's saying a LOT..."

Rocky could only sit there, jaw dropped. They got into that whole argument, words were fired and feelings were hurt because of _THAT?_ "A-Are you- wait, Seriously-I-I still can't believe this... I thought Ryder was only afraid of brussels sprouts!"

"Yeah, Rocky." Chase laughed. "It's true. But just keep me posted on Ryder, Alright? We're close."

Rocky managed a mumbled agreement before the call ended. Conveniently, Skye and Rubble returned a few seconds later. Rubble decided to take up his spot closest Ryder's feet, and Skye sat next to Rocky.

"Finally talked it out, huh?" she asked. Rocky nodded and face-palmed.

"Yeah, but... oh my gosh, Skye, we're so STUPID!" Rocky flopped out across Ryder's legs. "Seriously, how do you and Ryder put up with us?"

Skye did not have a clue what Rocky was going on about, but she shrugged. Glancing over at Ryder, she stroked his cheek and fixed a loose strand of his hair before licking his cheek. "I don't know. I really don't know."

* * *

Chase sighed in relief as the sun finally began to show signs of breaking through. He smiled a little- things really seemed to be starting to look up. Ryder seemed like he would be alright, and once he was home, Chase knew he would have to talk to the pups about his actions the past few days. Even though they had work to do, Chase didn't feel stressed out.

 _"Hey, Marshall? Zuma?"_ He called via pup tag. Zuma was so exhausted that he opted to ride shotgun with Marshall in his fire truck, having parked his hovercraft at the Lookout before they resumed their trip. Marshall yawned loudly before he sleepily answered.

"...hmmm... yeaah… we're here..." Marshall answered sleepily. "Whassup…"

 _"How are you and Zuma holding up?"_ He squinted his very tired eyes. _"We're getting close to the bridge- once we hit it we're pretty much at the hospital."_

"O-Oh, really? Wow, t-that's great..." Marshall rubbed his eyes before he checked in with Zuma- sure enough, the poor pup was out like a light. "Zuma... he's gonna reeeeeeallly like a bed..."

Chase chuckled before his face became serious. _"Listen, Marshall... about earlier..."_

"Hmm?"

 _"I'm so sorry."_ He apologized, his paws tightening on his steering wheel. _"For not talking to you sooner. Well, that and... what I said and did. You know, e-earlier."_

Marshall didn't expect that to happen, but he shook his head and smiled. "It's alright, Chase. With all the excitement the past three weeks, I mean..." Marshall sighed. "Ryder is out priority. He's always been OUR priority. I just... wanted you to know that. That we weren't going to leave this all on you. Ryder didn't raise us to leave one of our own hanging."

 _"Yeah, But he didn't raise ME to be such an idiot!"_ Chase growled, frustrated with himself again. He slammed down on his dashboard. _"Seriously, what was WRONG with me?!"_

Marshall sighed; he knew Chase could be hard on himself so talking to him wouldn't help much. Instead, he looked up as the sun rose and wondered what time it was before he spotted the bridge.

"Ah! Finally! Hang on Ryder, we're on our way!" Marshall howled happily as renewed energy coursed through him. He pushed his firetruck to the max, but in all his excitement, Marshall hit Zuma rather hard in his side, earning an irritated growl from the sleeping pup. Chase chuckled as Zuma gave their dally a swat to the head before he sat up and stretched, a bit lost in his thoughts.

 _'Well, Marshall's right about one thing- Ryder would have wanted them to know. But maybe he should be the one to tell them?'_

At long last, the trip parked their vehicles and ran inside to join the others. But as Chase ran past the waiting room, he saw Farmer Yumi and Al talking with a person in a long white coat. "Guys, I'll catch up soon." he called to the other two. The lady in the white coat stood up, shook their hands, and walked away. Chase watched as she hustled down the hall, presumably to where Ryder was, concern on his face. "That can't be good..."

Yumi spotted Chase sitting there, head tilted at Cynthia. "Hey, Chase." she called, spooking the pup. She bent down and gave him a scratch behind his ear. Al soon joined them.

"Hey, Chase. Did everything go well with your rescue?" he asked.

"Yeah, Wanda will be fine. Capt'n Turbot is caring for her right now." he answered. "Wore Zuma out, though. He finally got some rest before we got here."

Yumi and Al both let out sighs of relief at the good news. "So, how's Ryder? Is he going to be okay?" Chase got to the point. Yumi stood up and motioned for Chase to follow them to Ryder's room. Once they arrived, Chase felt his heart drop to his stomach.

Ryder was pale as the sheets covering him. He had various tubes flowing in and out, and that monitor was beeping constantly. He was a bit surprised when he saw Rubble and Zuma curled at the foot of the bed, fast asleep, and Marshall, Rocky and Skye sitting next to Ryder, talking.

"Oh, Ryder... you look terrible..." Chase whispered to himself. Yumi knelt down and placed her hand on Chase's head.

"Chase, you see... Ryder's fighting a lot. He has a really bad case of strep throat, and some kind of upper respiratory infection that's been giving him a hard time." she explained. "I guess all that hard work of keeping Adventure Bay safe was finally wearing his young body down. He's still a child..."

"... so how long does he have to stay here?" Chase finally asked the one thing that's been bothering him. Yumi didn't want to tell him this part, but she knew she would have to.

"They're estimating about a week, based on how well he responds to the treatment. Right now, they're trying to get him hydrated and get his fever under control."

Chase bit his bottom lip. _'A whole week in this place? But its for the best... he needs this. Marshall was right... we're no doctors. We're just pups and we're lucky we know even half of what we do now!'_

"Okay... I understand." Chase walked inside and hopped atop the bed. Sitting next to Rocky, he stared at the oxygen mask they gave Ryder to help with his breathing. Yumi followed behind him, pulling a chair close to the bed and the pups. She rubbed her temple as she finally took the time to rest from all the action that happened.

"Farmer Yumi? You're staying, too?" Rocky asked. Yumi nodded before checking the time- it was actually almost 7:30 in the morning? Just how long had they all been there?

"It's been a long day. Al is preparing the truck- anyone wants to head home for some actual rest and food?"

Chase immediately volunteered to stay with Ryder, as did Marshall and Rocky. Yumi smiled and scooped up Rubble and Zuma in her arms. "Alright. I'll take these sleepyheads and Skye back to the Lookout. But I think one more pup should come with me."

Chase could easily see Yumi was hinting at himself, and he hated to admit it, but as defacto leader, he had to stay at the Lookout in case anyone decided to 'yelp for help.' He growled under his breath- of all the times to be a responsible pup! Hanging his head in defeat, Chase quickly licked Ryder's cheek before he reluctantly hopped down from the bed and followed after Yumi.

"We'll be back for you two later, understand?" Chase said. "Make sure to keep us all updated with Ryder, and... I'll do my best to come visit him."

Marshall nodded; he knew this was going to be super hard for Chase, as he probably felt he was failing Ryder by not staying by his side. "Don't worry, Chase. You have our word- we'll keep a close eye on him." he promised. "And don't stress out- Ryder knows that you'll do the right thing and take care of Adventure Bay."

Rocky agreed. "If you need my truck, I think you all should be able to use it. Except for Rubble- he can't operate the lift right. And Marshall's fire truck is here, so we're just a drive away if an emergency pops up."

Chase smiled slightly; at least with Marshall and Rocky here, he felt better than just leaving Ryder with random strangers. He was also really grateful he had such understanding friends. _'I still owe them an explanation, but when Ryder wakes up, I know Rocky's going to ask a lot of questions. It's probably not my place to tell them, anyways.'_

"Thanks, guys. I'll see you soon, I guess."

* * *

 **And complete! Well, this story is definitely getting longer than expected, but I still hope everyone is enjoying it! Wish I could say the same about the title... I couldn't think of anything better, so it'll have to do for now.**

 **Please let me know what you think, and I'll see you all in the next chapter!**


	12. Reflect

**Hello all! I'm so sorry for the long wait, but there will be two for the price of one! See the note at the end for more info.**

 **Please enjoy! I own nothing.**

* * *

 **Caretaker**

 **Chapter 12- Reflect**

For the next three days, things for the PAW Patrol were still hectic, still moving regardless of Ryder still being out of it, and still stressful for Chase in general.

Chase still couldn't really visit and stay with Ryder due to him still being acting leader, so Rocky had suggested that they bring Ryder's pup pad so that it could serve as some method of visual communication. At the moment, only Marshall was allowed to stay with Ryder, and even that was a bit of a challenge since the hospital didn't really want pets in the patient rooms. Chase had appreciated it greatly, even though it still bothered him he wasn't physically there with Ryder. The others all felt the same way, so Chase at least had some pup to share in his guilt- even if he felt the guiltiest.

As far as Adventure Bay went, people were still asking for help, sometimes on the most stupid things, which had finally begun to grate even young Rubble's nerves. Mayor Goodway was constantly asking the worn out pups for help setting up for events such as the third annual Summertime Jamboree Jam Fest, two Luke Starts concerts nearly back to back, and of course, locating Chickaletta whenever the curious bird wandered off, among other things. Most of it was just helping the people, and Chase knew that it was in the spirit of Adventure Bay to always help one another out. But that was when Ryder wasn't sick as a pup and needed them.

Now, it was an annoyance. People kept saying they would try and give the poor pups a break so they can see Ryder, so that they could rest, but each time someone called mission control, Chase wanted to throw Rocky's wrench at the screen and let it stay broken. _'But I promised Ryder I'd take care of Adventure Bay. He's be so disappointed in us, in me, if I snapped.'_ Chase had to remind himself. So he grinned and bore it, and told his worn out family to do the same. That didn't mean it was easy.

By now, and to the pups' surprise, except for Farmer Yumi and Farmer Al, there weren't a lot of people who knew about the details, just that Ryder was in the hospital and would be for awhile. Chase had preferred it that way for one obvious reason- Ryder wouldn't want all the attention on him in a place he wasn't comfortable with. While Goodway, Turbot and Katie asked about him from time to time, sending lots of get well cards and balloons and flowers from people in the town, Katie offering much needed baths and massages for them, and Mr. Porter helping out on his end by bringing homemade pups treats, all the pups felt that they reached their limits.

Skye was constantly giving air support when hikers wandered too far off and injured themselves, or when animals like Cornelius bolted from home and ended up dangling for dear life over cliff edges. Rubble was constantly needed for construction work- Mayor Goodway had requested for Rubble and a team to build her a new, travel sized birdhouse for Chickaletta to enjoy when she went on extended trips, then asked about repair work around Adventure Bay- some of which Rocky had to pitch in and help with as well. Then he was needed to help Uncle Otis, as his cabin was rickety and Goodway was worried about him. And of course, saving "Daring Danny X" from several fears of death. Not a good week for Rubble or Rocky.

Besides being the fix it pup alongside Rubble, Turbot relied on the eco-pup a lot to keep the beach clean, which wouldn't have been such a problem if- one, turtle egg laying season wasn't in full swing, the weather had been nice enough for the beach to be occupied almost all the time, which meant lots of trash that had to be collected and sorted DAILY, as well as protecting the new baby turtles and other water wildlife Turbot fretted over. Rocky felt his head was about to burst! _'Weren't YOU and Mayor Goodway supposed to take care of this?! How on earth did it get so out of hand!?'_

Zuma wasn't as lucky- since people were somehow stranding themselves out on the sea, he was constantly racing out there to save them before something dreadful happened. Or occasionally helping Turbot when his diving bell gave him trouble. And it just so happened that yesterday was a particularly rainy day, meaning idiots like Daring Danny X and young Alex were bound to get themselves into some trouble. Zuma deadpanned as he had thought about his last mission- saving a drowning Danny after he tried windsailing knowing there was a nasty thunderstorm rolling in. _'Seriously? What the heck was he thinking, dude? Or was he even thinking at all? What's WONG with that dude?!'_

The pups were done by the fourth day. Their patience, their energy, it was all gone and then some. Not even a soothing bubble bath helped to relax their nerves. Chase had to make a choice to let them all rest, or keep pushing on the way Ryder did. _'But maybe that's what made him so sick! He's exhausted! I don't want the others to end up the same way, but Skye and Rocky had been right- its so much to care for so many on our own! Even with Ryder here... I don't know how long we can keep doing this...'_

As far as Ryder was concerned, he was getting slightly better and was still stable, but he had been out cold since he arrived four days ago. Marshall never had much news to tell the other pups when they checked in, as his condition hadn't changed, so they usually talked about how rescues and other things went instead.

On day five, Marshall was awoken by a strange mumbling noise. Yawning and rubbing his eyes, Marshall looked around, confused. The monitors were beeping normally, and his stomach wasn't grumbling, so he wondered what the sound was. As he sat there, he felt Ryder's legs moving and heard the mumbling more clearly.

"R-Ryder... is that-?" Marshall peered closely at him. Ryder looked like he was not having the most pleasant dream, but at least he was moving and making some kind of sound, which the poor dally pup gladly took over the eerie silence he'd had to get used to for the last four days. Regardless, Marshall was worried- one of the monitors was starting to beep a bit weird, and he didn't like it. He whined and inched closer to Ryder, nuzzling him carefully to gauge his awareness.

"R-Ryder? H-Hey, it's me, Marshall." the young pup's trembling voice spoke. He got a small whimper in reply, before Ryder's head turned a little as he continued to mumble in his sleep. Marshall sighed and wondered if what Cynthia had mentioned to him yesterday afternoon was happening now.

"Because of his fever, he's going to have fever dreams." Marshall repeated quietly as he sat and watched Ryder for a moment. "And I'll never know what kind of dreams he'll have. Its unpredictable..."

Ryder's brows furrowed together, his eyes scrunched tight and his breathing slightly picking up as his "dream" seemed to continue to bother him. Marshall didn't care- Ryder was in some kind of pain and he had to do something! He nuzzled his cheek again, hating how he couldn't do much more for him. He just hated seeing his dearest friend so weak and hurting like this.

"Oh, Ryder... I know it's uncomfortable. You're probably in some kind of pain, huh?" Marshall whispered. This time, Marshall heard a single, clear word amongst the mumbling: _"Alek... zander..."_

Marshall tilted his head. "Alexander? Does he mean our friend Alex?" He hummed in thought and made a note to tell Chase and the others about it when they called later. "Wonder why he's having such a bad dream- well, then again... that kid's clumsier than me! And that's saying quite a bit!"

Ryder's groans of discomfort brought Marshall back to earth. He rubbed his cheek against Ryder's, hoping that if nothing else, it would make him aware that at least one of his pups were there, waiting for him to open his eyes.

"It's okay, Ryder." Marshall started rambling again- he couldn't help it. This place was getting to him now, and Ryder's discomfort was getting to be too much to bear to watch.  
"C-Chase, he knows how much you hate these places. Honestly, none of us really knew you didn't like hospitals, you know? We only thought that Chase said that because he hates going to the dentist... and the vet. But now that I know, Ryder... honestly, I can't blame you. I don't think I like seeing you here, especially like... like this..."

Ryder's mumbling started to slow down as he turned his head towards Marshall's voice, almost as if he were listening. Marshall felt relieved- his rambling actually helped! Smiling, he licked Ryder's cheek and wiped away tears he hadn't even noticed had begun to trace his cheeks.

"Please open your eyes, Ryder. O-Okay? Just... let us know you're alright somehow..." Marshall pleaded quietly. "You're really scaring all of us, Chase especially. He wants to be here so badly, he wants to be by your side, but he knows how much you love this town. How much you... you care about being that... pillar for this community. B-But it's not fair, Ryder! It's not fair..."

Marshall wiped his eyes, sniffling a little as he curled into a ball, resting his head carefully on Ryder's chest. He felt his chest rising and falling slowly, and placed a paw over top his hand. "D-Don't get me wrong, 'cause I know how much you care about Adventure Bay. I mean, we all do... it's our home, but..."

He looked up at Ryder through tear-filled eyes. "B-but it's not about them. It's about _you,_ Ryder... you give too much a-and sometimes... I wish you wouldn't. I wish you would care about yourself, be a little selfish, talk to us about _YOU._ You're always worrying about us, making sure we have everything, but what about you? Why can't we just worry over you and treat you like a baby for once?"

Ryder's hand jerked a little, and Marshall felt his heart beating fast as he sat up and peered into his face, seeing if his eyes opened yet. "M… Ma-Mar... shall..." Ryder breathed. He didn't seem so pained now that he was talking to him, and for that the dally was relieved. He happily licked his cheeks again before he bumped foreheads with him.

"You keep giving me scares like this and _I'll_ be the one going to the vet, Ryder..." Marshall whispered. He moved away, getting ready to contact the others and let them know about Ryder's progress, when a sudden, very hot hand managed to grab his hind leg, startling the heck out of the pup. He quickly whipped his head and what he saw almost made his heart stop completely.

"R-Ry... Ryder...? Y-You're awake..."

* * *

Chase growled irritably as he barked out his megaphone. He should be with Ryder right now, not hoarding a lost bunch of ducks- again! Mayor Goodway clapped gratefully as Chase made duckling sounds to lead the ducks out of City Hall, and back to Chompy's dam, where they had originally come from. As they walked, Rocky was using his recycle truck to toss treats to them, so that they would stay in line. After all was safely done, the pups returned to Mayor Goodway to let her know of the success.

"Oh, thank you, Chase, Rocky!" Goodway scratched behind Rocky's ear, but when she made her way to reward Chase, the German Shephard just shook his head no and started walking out of the room. The mayor looked on, worried about him. Rocky just sighed.

"I'm sorry, Mayor. But... Ryder's still in the hospital, and you know Chase..." He trailed off, unsure of what else to say. She hummed in thought, tapping her chin.

"I had a feeling that was bothering him. Ryder _is_ pretty much our whole town's pilliar." She walked off, motioning Rocky to follow her. Rocky was curious as to where she was going, but felt that he needed to talk to Chase. He kept looking between the two, hating having to make a choice.

"Uhhh, Mayor? I-I'm sorry, but me and Chase, we, uhhh-" Rocky jerked his head in the direction Chase went, and suddenly the normally airheaded mayor realized what she was doing. She gasped in her absentmindedness, and gave Rocky one last, quick scratch.

"Oh goodness! I'm so sorry! Go on, you guys were awesome today! Thank you again!" She quickly waved him off before she rushed back into the back room, looking for her purse chicken, and leaving the mixed breed to wonder what Goodway was trying to show him. He shrugged it off and ran out the door, where he was greeted by a far-off looking Chase.

"H-Hey? Chase?" Rocky hopped into his recycle truck. He got no reply.

"Chase? Helloooo? Hey, Chase!"

That time, Chase snapped out it. "H-Huh? Oh, Rocky...hey..." he muttered. Shaking his head, he sighed. "I'm sorry, Rocky. Did I zone out again?"

Rocky chuckled and started up his truck. "Yeah, you did. Come on, Chase. I know I'm not Marshall, and... I kinda…you know, messed up last week." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "B-but... I'm really starting to worry about you. We all are."

Chase started up his truck, but didn't make any motion to drive off-yet. He sat there, quiet in thought for a moment, before he looked at Rocky and said, "Can we drive to the beach? For the fresh air? My head feels like it's going to burst."

Nervously laughing as the pair drove down the street, Rocky thought, _'PLEASE do not feel like swimming! I'm worried but there is NO way I'm stepping one paw in that nasty water!'_

Rocky's fear and nervousness was soon quelled when they pulled into the beach and parked a good ways away from the beachline. Chase hopped out and sat down a few feet from his truck, and Rocky decided to do the same, glad for the much needed break.

"I wonder how the others are doing. I know they're glad there isn't any more rescues for a bit... I hope..." Rocky mused aloud. He didn't hear anything from Chase, so he just laid down and enjoyed the breeze.

"I know you're not Marshall." Chase suddenly said. Rocky tilted his head in questioning.

"Honestly, it's not easy talking to that silly dally sometimes. He's... well, he's Marshall." Chase finished with a fond smile. "I know sometimes he isn't able to understand everything I tell him. Still... he has a good heart. A big one."

"Yeah, you're right." Rocky thought back to their argument and how Marshall pleaded for the two of them not to get at each other's throats. "He definitely has his ways to keep the peace sometimes, I'll say that."

They shared a chuckle, then a peaceful silence resumed. Chase lowered his head. "Rocky... I'm sorry."

"For...?"

"Worrying you guys. And letting you all down. It's just... I don't like seeming so... I dunno, weak around you guys... pathetic, I suppose. I don't know, right now, I feel like an idiot than a leader." Chase's ears sagged as he kept beating himself up.

Hearing Chase doubt himself like he was made Rocky a bit angry. But he swallowed it down and instead placed a paw on his shoulder- Chase and him really didn't need another argument right now. He just needed a level head to talk to.

"Chase, you keep saying that you're an idiot... but we don't see you like that at all." he said softly. He then paused. "Its... well, we were all worrying about some of the choice you've made. It just doesn't seem like you, Chase. And I guess we just want to know why."

Chase continued to stare out at the ocean, watchinf the beach goers enjoying their time, free of any worries or stress... seeing children Ryder's age doing what he should be doing. "Remember when I told you about Ryder's fear of hosiptals?" he asked.

"Yeah. What of it?"

"It-It's not...well, it's not exactly the whole story. " Chase shrugged. "Thing is, I don't really know _why_ Ryder hates hospitals like he does. I thought it was kinda like how you felt around water, not liking being in it, feeling like your lungs will close up if you ever had to swim in it, but Ryder just kept saying it wasn't the same as that."

"Huh..." Rocky thought about the information he was told, tapping his chin. "I wonder why Ryder wouldn't say what was troubling him. We're all family, and we usually share these things... most of the time."

"Yeah..."

Another pause. Then Rocky spoke up. "Listen, Chase. It's... been a hectic couple of weeks. You've been doing a lot for Ryder, and I know he'd apricate how well you've been handling rescues and our team. I think he'd be pretty proud."

"Really? _I've_ been handling missions well?" Chase questioned a bit sarcastically. "Because I feel like I'm letting him down! I feel like I'm letting you all down..."

Rocky rolled his eyes. "Now I see why you can't talk to Marshall about things like this!" he laughed. Chase cocked his head at him, completely confused.

"You two would literally just keep saying, 'No you're not!' 'Yes you are!' all day and night!" he laughed. "I don't think you would get very far with that silly dally!"

As Rocky laughed, Chase felt a smile creeping on. He couldn't help it; Rocky was right. Marshall would probably make things way worse! Soon, the two pups were laughing, Chase feeling the most relieved in a while.

"Uhh, Chase?" Rocky hesitated as Chase stretched his body and shook out some sand.

"Yeah?"

"I, uh... I hope I... kinda helped or... something..." Rocky mumbled shyly. Chase nodded and patted Rocky on the back before he jerked his head towards their parked trucks.

"I don't know about you, but I'm starving! Let's meet the others back at the Loo-"

The pup tags flashed, and Chase barely managed a hello before a excited Marshall screamed, "Guys, get down here! Ryder's finally awake! Hurry up!"

Chase froze. He heard the sounds of the other pups, excited and worried about the good news they felt they waited forever to hear, and Rocky howled in happiness as he told the others he and Chase were on the way. As the call ended, Rocky noticed Chase looked pretty nervous and scared instead of happy, and sighed.

"That pup is more hardheaded than Marshall... I wish he'd stop beating himself up about this..."

Chase was happy, he truly was. He could finally see Ryder face to face and hug him and lick him silly, and probably cry a little too. But a larger part of him was scared of what he would think once the others talked about his leadership and how things had been while he was in charge.

 _'I just know he's going to tell me how horrible a leader I've been acting lately...'_ Chase thought grimly to himself. Regardless, he was just as relieved to know Ryder was finally awake to the world, and he and Rocky raced off the beach and back to the hospital to see him in person.

 _'But if Ryder's awake, then maybe that means he's starting to get better. Maybe I should talk to him about... well, him. Figure him out a little more. He's not going back to work right after something like this, and we'll make sure of it!'_

* * *

 **And complete! This was a delayed chapter, and I apologize for that. I have the next chapter ready, but I really would like to know what you all think of this one first. If it's good enough then I'll post the next one fairly quickly.**

 **With that, please let me know what you think!**

 **Until next time!**


	13. Interlude: Awake

**Hello all! I'm pretty grateful the last chapter was received well; as promised, here is the next one! I do apologize for the wait; besides fighting the flu for the past week, I had to edit this chapter because I just didn't like it.**

 **I own nothing; enjoy!**

* * *

 **Caretaker**

 **Interlude Chapter 13-Awake**

 _It's quiet again. I haven't heard anything. Just my own breathing as I float in some dark space._

 _The scene from when I was small disappeared. So did Alekzander. Now it's just me. But I'm not scared. At least, not anymore. I'm worried._

 _My pups... they've been so worried about me for weeks, especially when the city went into rescue overload. They knew I was pushing myself too hard, especially Chase and Marshall. But I also think they were worried about me past that- my well-being, my mental and emotional health. Poor pups... I hope he's alright._

 _I think back to the day I found Marshall. I don't see a full flashback, just snippets of times in that past. It was right after I found Chase, I believe. Guess that's why they're such great friends. Marshall was a small little thing, fit right in the palm of my hand. I didn't know his backstory, but much like Chase, he was there for me when I was still trying to process my... my whole life, I suppose._

 _I feel the corners of my lips tug upward. Marshall and Chase were like brothers. Chase was older by about a year, so Marshall loved to follow after him. Including worring about me and asking me if I was alright. From then until now... they've always worried about me. Always wondered about me, curious about my life. But I never really liked to talk about my past. So I told him I was fine, I was alright. I'd always been alright for their sake... I had to be._

 _Of course, that's kind of what got me in this mess. I should have been honest with my pups. I was not alright. A lot of things were weighting on my mind lately, and me getting sick just added more guilt to my heart. They feel like they owe me so much, but in truth? I owe them everything._

 _If I wasn't for them... I don't know who I would be or where I would have ended up._

 _I have to see them. I just want to know they're alright and they don't need to worry, especially poor Chase and Marshall. I strain and try to force my exhausted body to work with me. It's a lot of energy I don't have, but I eventually manage to get my eyes to crack open a little._

 _I could see a moving thing on my bed, and when I weakly blink, I realize that that moving thing was in fact, Marshall. He was getting ready to get off the bed, but I didn't want to be left alone here. I still wasn't sure what had happened since... since I blacked out, I think, or where "here" was. I force my arm to move and with the little strength I had left, manage to grab his hind leg. He whips his head to me, and I remember seeing his blue eyes widen with shock._

 _"R-Ryder...? Ryder, can you hear me...?" I nod, but I let his leg go- my body feels so weak and useless... nothing wants to work with me. It's then I realize I have something up my nose- it's forcing air into me. I don't like it- it feels weird and I'm kind of tempted to pull on it. It's uncomfortable and a bit itchy. And then I hear that same beeping I thought I'd dreamt about. Slowly, I look around, my head throbbing at the lights above me._

 _Marshall is soon in my line of sight, and he gently licks my cheek and nuzzles me. I sigh; I missed him so much... why does it feel like it's been so long since I've seen him? I struggle to speak, but my throat is so dry it hurts like mad. Marshall shakes his head no and smiles lightly._

 _"It's okay, Ryder. Don't talk; I've gotta tell the others you're awake, finally! And I need to call that nurse lady-uh, Cynthia." he explains, a bit too close to my ears. I wince- he's so loud! My head is drumming now, and my discomfort must've worried him. He whines and nuzzles me again.  
_

 _"O-Oh, I'm sorry, Ryder. I didn't mean for that to happen." he whispers. I can't speak, my head and throat hurts, my body feels limp and weak and I want to curl up in a ball and cry. Marshall's still worried about me, but has things to do. I know that, but that doesn't stop a lone tear from rolling down my face._

 _"It's okay. I'll be right back, a-alright?" Marshall promises. He places his paw on my cheek and waits for me to confirm I heard him. Once I did, he hops off the bed and I hear his little paws walk away. I don't know what else I can do right now but try and focus on keeping my eyes open. I feel like I've been sleeping for years yet I'm so, so tired... it's difficult to keep my eyes open._

 _I think about my brother and my parents instead. About that weird flashback I had. About Alekzander. I wonder what he would do if he were in my place. It kind of makes me smile a little bit- even though I was really young, I couldn't remember a time when Alek actually got sick. He was always there for me, though... I'm sure I've been sick a bunch of times as a child._

 _It frustrates me when I realize I don't know what brought on those memories. I thought I had pushed it all back, tucked it all away once me and Chase decided to form the PAW Patrol! I have Adventure Bay, the beach, and all our unusual missions to keep my busy, and when I'm not rescuing people, I'm attending events, caring for my pups, even playing video games, so I never had time to think about anything._

 _Until recently. Until I passed out and the pups must've brought me to this place-_

 _Where exactly am I, anyways?_ _Cutting my thoughts short, I carefully and slowly turn my head to the right, and spot all these monitors and an IV drip stand. My eyes widen slightly, and my chest feels tight..._

 _I'm... in a... a hospital? And Marshall just walked out- I'm all alone? In this room?_

 _My head literally feels like a mini bomb went off- it's so painful and I can't seem to take in enough air. I'm hearing a weird ringing noise and beeping and all these weird sounds before I hear a lady talking to me. At least, I think that's what I hear..._

 _"Ryder! Ryder, you need to look at me! Take your time! Breathe!"_

 _"R-Ryder...? Oh my goodness, Ryder?! Ryder!"_

 _I hear Marshall scream my name and then it's all dark again. It stays like that for a few moments, giving me some time to breathe and realign myself._

 _"...hear me..."_

 _"Wh... hap'en…"_

 _I'm hearing voices. Echoing in and out, in and out. But my brain is not putting the pieces together. I don't seem to care at that point- the pain is so bad I really, really don't want to go back to reality._

 _"... dunn… passed out...!"_

 _"Wyder… pen... eyes!"_

 _I recognize that last one. It's Zuma, no doubt. Wait... Zuma? My pup Zuma? So those other voices were... oh._

 _Slowly, I open my eyes again. It's so blurry and tilted I feel sick to my stomach. I soon see bright colors- green, yellow, red, and orange. It takes my groggy head a moment to realize what they were._

 _"Z...Zuma...?" I sound hoarse and it hurt just to mutter his name. "M-Marshall... R-Rocky, I..." I hear a quiet whimper before I feel fur against my chest and my face. What on earth just happened to me?_

 _"Ryder...? Can... you hear me?" Marshall carefully asks me. I turn my head in his direction and struggle to see his face. There's so much pressure behind my eyes I want to keep them closed but I don't. Again, the warm contact of little paws on my cheek keeps me in this reality._

 _"H-Hey. I'm so sorry... I just left to call the others." Marshall whispered to me. "Y-You just... started acting strange and... I-I dunno, the nurse came in and said a lot of words I didn't get and- and...I f-freaked out and-"_

 _He takes a deep breath, moves back a little, lets it out. "How are you feeling?" he finally asks. I can't tell too well, but he seems pretty worn out from the sound of his voice. I feel even MORE guilty- am I the reason he sounds so tired? I must've worried him sick, and I can't imagine what I've done to the others._

 _"Ryder?" I recognize that one as Rocky. He's on my left, head tilted as he worriedly looks at me. For some reason, I get small whiffs of... salt? No, sea... it's seawater. I wonder why Rocky smells like that- he hates water..._

 _I try once again to speak, but I can hear nothing come out. My voice is shot completely, and it's kind of scary. I don't feel right- and it's not just because I'm ill._

 _"Oh, Ryder..." Rocky nuzzles my cheek and I get a stronger scent of seawater. He's not wet, though. I wonder what happened... I hope Rocky's alright. He wouldn't go anywhere NEAR the beach, right?_

 _I feel guilty. I did this to myself. I pushed myself so hard, all because I didn't want to talk to my pups, to my family! I had so many chances to tell them and I just.. didn't._

 _"Ryder? Hey, easy there, Ryder..." I must've tried to sit up or move or something, because I feel a paw press against my chest and gently push me back down. I definitely know that voice... Chase..._

 _I feel my eyes welling up with more tears. Usually, the pups would never see me cry. Not like I don't cry, just never around them. They need me... so I've always had to be strong for them. I always ignored my emotions for them because... well, they're my family. I'm all they have and they're all I have. It became such a habit with me, especially since I had no real family to care for me._

 _But right now... I feel vulnerable. Helpless. I just want to go home and forget about all this. I've always hated being in hospitals- even when Alek was alive, I've hated them. There was something scary about them, and I used to cling onto him for dear life- I felt like the place would swallow me up whole if I didn't._

 _When he died... when they brought him to a hospital... I was so, so scared. The blood enough traumatized me, seeing Alek looking at me with the last little light left in him scarred me, but just being surrounded by constant death... that haunted me to this day. I ran... I ran and that place with the wails and the crying and all that blood scared me senseless._

 _I never, ever wanted to be in a place like that ever, EVER again._

 _I can't hold back the tears now. Because I **am** here, and I don't even know what's wrong with me, and I'm honestly terrified and I don't want my pups to leave me alone in here! Marshall is first to whimper and curl next to me, unable to speak because I know how emotional he can be. The others soon surround me, and Chase, my proud, strong pup, come up to me and licks way some of my tears. _

_"I-It's okay, Ryder." he tells me with his strongest, comforting voice. But I've known Chase long enough to know he's crying too. They all are... and I feel even worse than before._

 _They're not supposed to do this! They... they should be enjoying their life, not crying with a hopeless, scaredy-cat child! But they don't leave- they're all here with me... and I don't have to feel so scared._

 _"It's okay to cry now, Ryder. We're all right here now... and we aren't leaving you." Chase whispers to me before he lays his head next to whoever is on my chest. His paw touches my cheek._

 _"We're right here. So don't be afraid, okay? Let it out. Just... just let it out..."_

 _I don't remember what happens after all that. I think I just pass out from all the excitement. It's fine; I feel them surround me. I don't have to feel scared, because they're right here._

 _I don't have the flashback like before. Instead, I see a smiling Alek, the last time I saw him before he died. Next to that, there was a image of a bunch of smiling pups and me. It's just like a photo- when we recruited Rubble and completed out team, when I found and recruited each of them, when we found out home, the Lookout... basically my whole life. The positive parts of my life._

 _Yet, my past is so sad. My parents... I still don't know why they abandoned me here, in Adventure Bay. I don't know why they treated me like trash after Alek passed away. I still don't even know what truly happened to him! But I miss him terribly. I know he'd be proud of me, proud of my pups. I always wondered how he would react when he saw them, how professional , loving and caring they were... and how angry he would be at our parents at how they treated me after his death._

 _But I made myself a future, with those six unique pups. Now I need to let them in, put my heart in their paws and let them know that I truly meant it when I said I'd always treasure them and everything they've done for me. Including taking care of every single thing in this town- and caring for me. I wonder how hard that's going to be once I'm more with it..._

* * *

 **And complete! I'm kind of enjoying these Ryder interlude chapters- I'm really glad I decided to include them in this story.**

 **Again, I apologize- due to the flu I had last week, I didn't work on anything at all, so that's why this took longer than planned. But I hope that I made the wait worth it, and please let me know what you all think!**

 **Until next chapter!**


	14. One Day at a Time

**Hello all! I'm sorry for the random update- I've had a LOT of drama and choas in my personal life and I needed some time to myself. I'm getting there, but I really missed working on my stories, so here I am!**

 **Also, I've been watching s6 of PAW Patrol, and I'm not very impressed with the episodes they've aired so far- unneeded Ultimate Rescues and almost pointless episodes, even for kids. But what do you guys think of the new season?**

 **Please enjoy the chapter, and I'd like to hear your thoughts!**

* * *

 **Caretaker**

 **Chapter 14-One Day at a Time**

"Okay, well it seems like our patient is finally alert and with us." Cynthia said with a smile as she walked in, chart tucked under her arm. Ryder and the pups looked at her, and the pups greeted her with warm smiles and wagging tails.

Ryder, however, was very nervous. Very, very nervous. This was his third day being here, still sick as a dog with no voice, and he absolutely hated it. He was holding Chase tight to his chest, his eyes staring at her without so much as a blink. He wasn't sure why he felt like his heart would burst- this woman was scaring him half to death.

 _'Its okay, Ryder. Calm down. Chase is right... here...'_ Ryder reminded himself, breathing in and out slowly. _'Its not like before... it won't be like before...'_

Cynthia sighed sadly as she watched Ryder sinking into his bed, still hugging Chase a bit too tight, it seemed. Ryder hadn't done much since he came around two days ago, and now on day three he was still just as silent and scared as ever, even when the pups were here to comfort him.

"Hey, Ryder, sir. Don't be afriad. It's going to be alright. She's been really good to you, Marshall said." he whispered to him. Ryder looked down at him, fear clear as day in his face, but nodded as he tries to process the words spoken.

 _'I know... I feel like she's really nice, and maybe if I could at least speak I could thank her... but she... she's still one of them, and they let Alek down... why should I even trust her with my own life?'_ he thought semi-bitterly as he focused on Chase's soft fur tickling his neck and chest. He really needed some kind of distraction.

As for Chase, he tilted his head- it felt very strange having to take over Ryder's role, being the comforter, the leader. Even though he'd been doing it for weeks now, it was still foreign and he couldn't wait to have Ryder home so things could go back to normal. Staring at Ryder, Chase knew that he felt the same way.

"Just try and relax. We're all right here for you, okay?" Chase whispered. Ryder simply nodded and sunk against his pillow, deciding to look out his room window instead- it was a fairly overcast day today, matching how he felt inside- confused and sad.

"Ryder? Ryder, can you hear me?" Cynthia sat down next to him and slowly reached out to place her hand on his shoulder. It startled him so much Chase felt his heart literally skip a beat, and he glanced up worriedly at him. The others all moved in, equally worried and a bit scared of Ryder's reaction to being touched, never seeing him do that before. Even Cynthia didn't expect that to happen, but she kept her calm demeanor.

"I'm sorry for startling you like that. But I need you to let go of Chase so I can take your vitals." Cynthia said softly. "Can you let him go? Just for a few minutes?"

Ryder gulped- did he really need to let Chase go? He felt like he hadn't hugged his pups in forever, and now he had to let them go again for what? That... that thing- the stethoscope Cynthia had in her hand- didn't really instill much confidence in him, either. He whimpered and shook his head no.

"Just for a few moments? Please?" she pleaded gently with him. "I promise it'll be just like yesterday- real quick."

Ryder felt tears coming to his eyes. He cursed himself for acting like this- it wasn't like he hadn't gone through this already! But this particular time, he was unusually terrified. He did not want to let his pups go. He didn't even understand what was scaring him so badly.

"Ryder, it's okay. We know what's up." Rocky stepped closer to him and placed a paw on his forearm, smiling slightly. "We're right here. It's not like before, you understand?"

"He's right, Ryder, sir." Chase spoke, managing to free a paw and touch his cheek. "We understand. We understand and we're not about to leave your side. Just let the nice lady check on you, okay?"

"Yeah, sooner she can take of you, the sooner you'll be home with us!" Marshall added in with a wide smile. "It'll be alright, Ryder! You got this!"

The others offered up words of encouragement, words that Ryder desperately needed to hear. Still a bit scared, he nodded in agreement and allowed Chase to weasel out of his arms. The pups all sat close by Ryder as Cynthia leaned over and placed the cold metal tool to Ryder's chest.

"You ready?" Cynthia asked. Ryder shut his eyes tight and was grateful when a paw rested in his hand. He gripped it for all it was worth.

She checked Ryder's blood pressure and heart rate first, then listened to his lungs. Frowning, she leaned back and took his temperature- all the while the pups were watching her with curiosity, and Marshall learning new things to best care for him when he was released.

"Well, guys, I'm afraid I've got some bad news." Cynthia placed her stethoscope around her neck and took down some notes. The pups and Ryder looked at her nervously, waiting for the news.

"It's just as I figured. You're definitely not leaving anytime soon, Ryder." Cynthia announced, shaking her head. "It took three days just to get your body strong enough to begin treatment, and with the strep throat and infection you have, I can't just discharge you. Not even to these seasoned pups you have."

Ryder was crestfallen- he'd hoped she would at least allow him to heal at home, with his family, away from this... place. Marshall and the other pups weren't too pleased either. He was still going to have to stay there, and who knew how much longer that would be?

Cynthia opened Ryder's file. "It seems like the infection started from some kind of bacterial origin- I'm still looking into what actually caused your illness. But your strep throat is very treatable, so that will be the first thing we tackle."

"Excuse me?" Marshall asked. "What kind of infection does he have?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but it may very well be in his lungs or chest. The strep throat alone wouldn't explain all his symptoms. But..." She paused.

"Overworking would have aggravated his illness for sure. And seeing as how you all are the only pups and person caring for this ENTIRE town..." Chase lowered his head in guilt- he understood what she was saying.

"Ryder worked so hard he made himself sick... or at least, made it easy for him to get sick..." he whimpered. Cynthia smiled and patted Chase's head.

"Now don't be so hard on yourselves. With the antibiotic he'll be starting today, and lots of rest, Ryder should be able to go home within a few more days to finish his recovery." She giggled when the pups lit up at the news, tails wagging and lots of happy howls. Motioning with her hands to lower the volume, the head nurse stood up and looked one more time at Ryder. He seemed very out of it despite not having any medication in him yet.

"Ryder, what's important is that you get as much rest as possible. Even with the antibiotics, if you don't rest, your body can't recover the way you want it to. Do you understand?"

Ryder nodded; he _did_ look fairly worn out for a ten year old. _'It's not like I don't want to sleep! I'm exhausted! B-but if I stay asleep too long... that nightmare...'_

"I'm going to try and start Ryder on some softer foods to help with his sore throat and lost voice as well. He hasn't really been able to eat lately, but now that he's starting to stay awake for longer intervals, he should begin to eat at least small, soft meals to keep his strength up." All the pups nodded and listened carefully to what she was saying- except for one.

Chase noticed Ryder's despondent expression, and had a feeling he knew something was bothering him. Cynthia mentioned something else but he barely heard her. Instead, he rested on Ryder's lap and placed a paw on his hand.

"Ryder? Sir?" Ryder slowly turned his head and looked at his pups.

"Are... you alright? We got some good news, we can take you home soon!" Chase tried to sound excited, but he was nervous and a bit scared of the blank look in Ryder's eyes. Marshall, Skye and Rocky soon saw the same look and looked at each other, whining in concern.

"Ryder? Are you alright?"

The young boy didn't reply or make any notion he'd heard them. Slowly his eyes closed and his fingers went lax from Chase's paws. The six pups didn't know what to make of that strange behavior.

"Guys, we better let Ryder rest. He's going to need all the sleep he can get." Chase whispered, putting a paw to his mouth to emphasize them keeping their voice down.

"But what about... well, you know." Marshall tried to avoid saying 'his nightmares'. "We promised we'd be here for him but we can't stay here all night!"

"That's just the issue... "Chase sadly admitted, once again feeling like a failure. His head hung as he looked over at Ryder, watching as he started to enter a- hopefully- deep sleep. A nurse came in and gave him a needle. "I-I'm not sure... what to do..."

* * *

The next day, bright and early in the morning, Chase got a call from Cynthia about Ryder's progress. What she told him, however, made his heart sink to his stomach and his guilt increase even more.

Although it was about 5 in the morning, Chase had to tell the others. He beeped the five tags and waited in the control room, pacing back and forth, now completely awake.

"Ch-Chase...? What's-" Marshall was cut off by a long yawn. "-W-what's up... so ea'ly…"

"Sorry, pups. But... I just got a call from the hospital." Chase answered sadly. At the sound of that, the pups seemed a bit more awake, wondering what was the newest update.

"Looks like Ryder had a nightmare last night. Apparently this was the second one he's had, and this one was bad. Really bad."

"H-How bad are we talking?" Rubble wondered.

"Enough that they had to sedate him. He's knocked out right now to allow his body to rest."

All the pups gasped and shared looks of worry with one another. "So that might explain why he looked so dead yesterday- he must've been having a hard time sleeping!" Marshall brought up.

"But that's not good! If he's not sleeping he can't get better!" Rubble whimpered. "It's going to be even longer before he can come home!"

"Then it's decided." Rocky suddenly stood up. "We need to be by Ryder's side!"

Chase cocked his head. "What do you mean, Rocky? With Adventure Bay and Adventure Beach, it's-"

"No, I know, I know, but hear me out." Rocky sat down to explain his idea. "So remember how we discussed how we were going to break up the work amongst the six of us when Ryder first went to the hospital?'

"Yeah...?"

"Well why not do the same thing, but this time, we each rotate someone being with Ryder at the hospital? We know he's going to be discharged in a few days, so he just needs someone there before he goes to sleep to help him stay that way."

Chase listened carefully. "I get what you're saying, Rocky. But if we keep having to lose a pup each day... looks like we're back to taking control of other pups vehicles again."

"But what about Mawshall and Chase?" Zuma wondered. "It's still not going to be easy without one of them, and we need them the most. Not to mention dwiving their twucks will be hawd as heck!"

"Well, I've been in the hospital the longest, so I'll sit this one out." Marshall volunteered. "Besides, I've seen you guys driving my firetruck and... weeellll… yeah, I think I'll handle that from now on, thanks." The others shared a laugh, and Rocky smiled in thanks.

"Alright, Chase. You're still in charge. What do you think?"

The pups spent the next few hours working out a revised plan to now include going in to check on Ryder at the end of the night. As the pups headed back to their pup houses to catch a few more minutes of rest, Chase stayed behind to boot up the monitor and do his usual patrol. Marshall paused and looked over his shoulder.

"Hey, uh, Chase?"

"Hmm?" Chase was trying his best to keep his mind preoccupied with work. Marshall walked over and sat next to him.

"You sure you're alright? I know things weren't easy lately, especially with Ryder and all that... but I'm really worried about you." He placed a paw on his shoulder. "You're not taking time for yourself."

Chase didn't take his eyes off the screen for a moment. But he sighed- Marshall was asking about what happened back there and he did promise him.

"No, Marshall. I'm not alright. To be honest... I'm just scared. I caused such a scene the other night, and don't get me wrong, I talked to Rocky and everything- but I still feel... wrong." He sat down and lowered his head in shame.

"Ryder made me promise him that I would take care of Adventure Bay, that I'd be a leader, until he came home. And I knew I was never cut out for this- and then finding out Ryder's _**REAL**_ reason for hating hospitals? Leaving him back there? I-I mean, I know why he has to be there, but it- I just-"

Chase growled in frustration and ran his paws roughly down his face. "Sometimes I wonder if Ryder was in his right mind when he picked me for this... I didn't even know he had so much on him and I'm supposed to be his best friend!" he snapped. Marshall sat there quietly, thinking about what Chase said.

"Ryder was in his right mind." he began. He glanced sideways at Chase. "He knows the type of pup you are. How dedicated, hardworking, proud, determined and kind-hearted you are."

Marshall stood up and stretched. "He knows how much you love what you do, how much you've always loved what you do, and how much you care about keeping people safe and sound. He knows **_YOU_** , Chase. Just like I know you."

"But... but what if he had made a bad choice?" Chase asked in a small voice, refusing to look at his best friend. "What if-"

"Ah-ah-ah! See, there it is again!" Marshall playfully rolled his eyes, giving Chase a mock stern look, complete with the light jabbing of his friend's chest. "You seriously worry waaaaaayyy too much! We trust you, and even though you made mistakes, no one sees you as anything less than our awesome leader! Our awesome and _stubborn_ leader, at that!" he finished with a laugh.

"Just take it one day at a time, alright? Right now, we're going to have breakfast and then do our rounds. If we're lucky, maybe we can go see Ryder even earlier and spend some time with him."

"But that's just it! Ryder should have told us something was bothering him! We could have prevented this, forced him to take some time off from working so much!" Chase angrily slammed his paw on the control "So why? Why didn't he tell us?!"

Marshall had wondered the same thing himself, but he also had a literal example next to him that gave him all the explanation he needed. "It might not be as easy as you think, Chase. You of all pups should know what it's like to have to open up like that."

Chase seemed desperate for answers, and managed to ignore about half of what Marshall said. "So what do we do?! I feel like just going there won't solve anything! Ryder _needs_ us! He needs us to make things better for him!"

"Take it easy, Chase. Take it easy." Marshall pulled Chase away from the monitor and sat down in front of him. He took deep breaths in and slowly let them out, silently instructing Chase to follow his example. After a moment, Chase seemed calmer, but not all the way.

"One day at a time. Ryder's going to be fighting his strep throat and infection for a few days." Marshall gently explained to him. "And you're right- Ryder does need us. And we're going to be there for him. But we can't _force_ him to talk, y'know?"

"... yeah. Yeah, you're right." Chase quietly admitted. He sighed heavily and rubbed his temples. "Seriously, I don't know how you all put up with me..."

Marshall giggled and put his arm around Chase, leading him to the elevator. "Because we're family and it's part of our awesome leader- and my brother."

Chase opened his mouth, about to ask about that last part, when Rubble called them over their pup tags. _'Guys? Is everything okay? I don't see Chase or you downstairs, Marshall! Are we having breakfast?'_ Rubble sounded a bit nervous at the last question, which made Chase and Marshall break out into a small laughing fit.

 _'No, no, we're on our way. Are the others up yet?'_

As Marshall and Rubble discussed breakfast, Chase sat down, his mind racing a mile a minute as he planned out today's patrol routes, and more importantly, how he was going to speak to Ryder about all that was weighting his mind down. "One day at a time... just have to remember that..." he muttered to himself. He looked straight ahead and pushed down his worry, plastering a smile on his face as he walked into the lounge.

 _'I promise, Ryder. I'll be there to help you... just like you've always been there for us.'_

* * *

 **And finally done! Again, I apologize, but I needed some time away from my fanfiction for a while. I'm just now getting back into the swing of things.**

 **Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and let me know what you think.**

 **Until next chapter!**


	15. The Promise

**Hello all! This one is going to be a LOT of conversation, just as a fair warning. Nothing crazy, but still mostly conversation.**

 **Not much to say except please enjoy!**

* * *

 **Caretaker**

 **Chapter 15- The Promise**

When the pups went to visit Ryder later on that afternoon, they saw him lying in bed, his eyes a bit glazed over. He looked a bit smaller than they remembered, and Marshall worried that Ryder wasn't eating properly. They also remembered what Cynthia called and told them- about Ryder losing much-needed sleep because of the amount of nightmares he'd been having.

 _'I wonder if the medicine they had to use on him is making him look so... sad and distant...'_ Chase was concerned- was Ryder ever getting out of this place?

"R-Ryder...?" Marshall whimpered as he was the first to climb on the bed. He didn't like the nasal cannula Ryder needed to help pump air into his lungs, or the IV that they had to put in his arm to keep him hydrated. He didn't like the sad, blank look in the boy's normally bright and energetic brown eyes. And he definitely didn't like the bags forming under them, or the weight he was slowly losing.

"Hey, Ryder, s-sir." Chase tried to sound confident. It was the first time they were able to see Ryder without interruption, and he did not look good. "W-We finally came to v-visit. Sorry we took so long."

Ryder slowly blinked, suddenly coming back to Earth, and noticed his six pups' worried and concerned faces. He tried to smile since he hadn't regained his voice as of yet, but his dry throat started itching him and he coughed- a bit too hard for the pups' liking. It looked like he was caving in on himself.

Quick as lightening, Marshall raced up to him and gently leaned him forward so he could pat his back, while Zuma and Rubble worked together and carefully brought a cup of water to him. With Marshall's help, the three pups bent his straw and raised the cup to his cracked lips. Ryder took a few grateful sips before he sank back against the bed, exhausted.

"That sure took a lot out of you, huh Ryder." Rocky commented as he adjusted his sheets. Ryder let out a sigh, nodding weakly.

"We're here for you now, okay?" Skye placed her paws on Ryder's arm. "You should try to rest. Remember what Cynthia said?"

Ryder knew that he needed sleep- he felt it in his muscles and bones. But he didn't want to- that nightmare was scarring and he refused to deal with again, if possible. So he decided to force himself awake.

Ryder weakly reached for the PupPad. Marshall noticed and helped him with it.

 _'So how has missions been going? What about Adventure Bay? Everything alright at the Lookout?'_ Ryder typed out, albit slowly. _'How are you pups doing with everything?'_

Marshall and Chase both groaned internally, while Skye, Rocky, Zuma and Rubble were various stages of uncomfortable. _'This should be fun...'_

"Well, right now things are calm..." Skye started off, sitting down. "It was hectic last week, and about half of last week, too."

Ryder tilted his head questioningly. Skye moved her paw in a small circular motion as she tried to figure out how to answer his "question". "Well, there's the ongoing issue with Farmer Yumi and Farmer Al constantly losing an animal every other day-"

"That's right!" Chase jumped in. "Now, do not get me wrong- I am forever grateful to them because if it wasn't for them, Ryder..." Chase looked at his best friend sadly and placed a paw on his hand. "I'm grateful to them. They've been really doing their best to not run us ragged... unlike other adults in this town."

"Yeah, Chase is right." Rubble pointed out. "And they always have treats for us too!"

The young family shared a laugh, Ryder silently laughing behind his hand. Once they calmed down, Chase continued. "REGARDLESS. They're the best, no doubt. But I-I REALLY wish they would build a better fence, especially for Corny and Emma! Those pigs keep running off, and they're, well, PIGS!"

Rubble made oinking pig sounds, adding emphasis to Chase's explanation, which made the group laugh harder. Ryder felt a bit relieved- this was what he needed. Not more sleep, just his lovable pups. _'I miss these pups a lot. I wonder if that's why it feels like I've been in here for way longer than a couple of weeks.'_

"And then thewe's Capt'n Tuwbot, wight Wocky?" Zuma spoke up from his spot next to said pup. He giggled as Rocky's face slowly fell flat and he tugged his eco-cap as far down his face as he could get it.

"Ohhh yeahh!" Skye added with a grin on her face. "Rocky was SO stressed out! I've never heard him yell so much since Marshall and the changing room incident!"

Marshall's head popped up at the sound of his name. "W-Wait, Rocky said we were good! And I barely wet-"

He was cut off when he felt the questioning glare of Ryder on him. Sheepishly caught, Marshall attempted to correct himself. "W-Well, maybe a liiiiiitle bit?"

Ryder arched an eyebrow. Chase nudged Marshall playfully. "It's okay, Marshall. You're still breathing so I'm guessing Rocky wasn't TOO mad at you." he giggled.

"Wait, whaaa?" Marshall was completely confused as to where the conversation was going by this point. "What is happening right now? I'm so confused!"

Ryder covered his mouth as he silently laughed once again. So did Chase and Skye. Marshall was left to stew over what the conversation was about, and once Ryder calmed down, he pointed at Rocky, indicating he wanted to know what happened with him. Zuma nudged him to get him to look up.

"Ah, Ryder... I'm sorry. I know we're supposed to keep professional and everything"-

"Ah, ah. Nope. I'm going to stop you right there, Rocky." Chase interrupted with his paw in the air, remembering his less than professional demeanor the first week Ryder was admitted. "In case you forgot, I was acting like... well, like a complete idiot. Remember?"

Ryder tilted his head- did something happened with Chase? He wished he could actually speak because all the thoughts racing around his head was starting to drive him crazy. _'Maybe I put too much on him. I mean, I did suddenly make him defacto leader and I haven't exactly been honest with him growing up. I don't get it, why was I such a moron? I know how Chase is! He takes his job very, very seriously, he probably- oh, Chase...'_

Chase shamefully looked at Ryder- he felt like he was a failure as he gulped and took a few steading breaths. This wasn't what Ryder wanted him to do as leader, he was supposed to be the one the others looked up to! Not fight with them, not put all that stress on Marshall-

"W-Well... I, uh... I was..." Chase licked his lips- why was telling Ryder all this so darn difficult? He steadied himself and tried again.

"I kind of... well, no. I DID lose my temper. I snapped at Zuma, when all he was asking was how you were doing." At the mention of that incident, Zuma sighed, his shoulders slumped a little- he'd hoped Chase would do something out of character for once and let that incident go. Zuma did forgive him, after all- wasn't that all that mattered?

"Chase, dude... it's fine. It's not like I didn't know you were-"

"No! No, Zuma!" Even Ryder was a bit caught off guard by the sudden sharpness in Chase's voice. "No! There was no excuse for me to have said those things! Especially since you, Marshall, Rocky, you guys were right!" Chase felt a huge weight suddenly lift of his shoulders and he sat down, defeated.

"I never should have acted like that... especially since... well... I hurt a lot of pups who mean a lot of me." He whimpered as his head lowered, his ears flattering against it. "I'm not a leader, Ryder... you never should have appointed that position to me, of all pups... I'm horrible..."

Marshall was next to comfort his best friend, moving next to him and putting a paw on his shoulder. "Chase. Please, listen. You are learning, just as we are. We're just kids, you know? I think you forget that sometimes, and you let your desire for wanting to make Ryder proud of your perfect work overtake that fact."

"He's wight, dude." Zuma interjected. Smiling a little, he sat down on Chase's left side and lightly nudged him. "Yeah, we wewe upset at fiwst. But we talked about it, and I think it made me wealize how much you had on your shouldews. So, like I said, it's all good and fowgiven."

"Same here. I know I'm a medic, and I knew you were just scared, like we were. Of Ryder having to come here, of what was happening to him. But in the end, you made the right call, and you saved Ryder's life."

Before any-pup could say another word, Ryder reached forward and grabbed Chase, cradling him to his chest. The German Shepard was so shocked he didn't move- he wasn't even sure he was breathing. The other five pups moved in and curled against Ryder as close as they could. Ryder gently scratched behind Chase's ear before he pressed his head close to his chest.

"I don't think Ryder is angry at you like you believe, Chase." Rubble said with a light giggle. Chase's cheeks were slowly turning pink as he tried to relax in Ryder's gently hold, but found that he couldn't. There was too much building up in his chest, and he felt like he was going to burst.

 _'It's been so long since I was in his arms like this. He'd always done this when I was upset, especially when I was going through my training to become a proper police pup.'_ Chase remembered. He pressed his nose in his chest and shut his eyes tight just as the first few tears made their way down his cheeks. _'I miss this... everything was so much easier back then, even with the training! Why am I such a letdown...?'_

Ryder felt sadness building in his chest as well- he wished he had known about Chase's stress, but even if he did, what good would it have done? He was sick, he overworked himself, and he needed to rest. But holding a sniffling pup in his arms, being surrounded by his slowly sniffling pile of pups, Ryder was reminded why he worked so hard in the first place.

 _'We handle all of the dangers of this town. We save people, we stop them from ending their lives. We fix things most of things the adults don't even take the time of day to look at! But... Marshall is right. And it's my fault Chase is so burdened. It's not just his genetics that cause him to push himself to the brink of stress...'_

Ryder felt a tear roll down his cheeks as he pressed a kiss to Chase's head, using a free hand to hug his other pups even closer, if it were possible. _'... it's me. I made them train to act like adults because of how I had to live. But they are kids, pups. They should be running, playing, laughing! And... I should be, too.'_

* * *

"Chase really didn't mean anything he said to us, Ryder." Marshall spoke up. Roughly two hours had gone by before Chase had finally passed out, sound asleep in Ryder's arms. Ryder himself looked like he was dancing on the edge of sleep himself, but he didn't want to lose a single second he was spending with his pups. With Chase resting, the other pups caught Ryder up to speed on the doings of the town. Ryder was impressed and couldn't want to thank his pups for all the hard work they'd put in- an idea was already running in his mind as to how he was going to do so.

"He's been really, really stressed. " Marshall had added, snapping Ryder out of his thoughts. He nodded in understanding- of course, he knew that, naturally- Chase didn't really have it in him to be mean.

"But... but it was also my fault too, Ryder." Rocky finally got a chance to say. He looked away from Ryder in shame, rubbing his leg a bit anxiously. Ryder tilted his head in question, and when Zuma opened his mouth to defend him, Ryder put his hand up to stop him.

"Y-You see, I was angry at Chase first because... because I didn't understand why he wouldn't take you to the hospital right away, why he... he kept making these choices like you... you didn't want to live or something." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I guess what I'm saying is that I felt like you and Chase, you were hiding something from us. And I... I got angry because... we're family. And we shouldn't be keeping secrets from each other!"

Ryder let the words sink in a moment, glancing down at Chase. Thankfully, the pup was still asleep. He picked up his pup pad and slowly typed a few words on it.

 _'Rocky, I owe you all an apology. Chase, too. It's not your fault you got angry- you were right. I DID keep something from you guys, but... it was because... I did not want to think about it at all. I told Chase not to say anything... but I see now that was wrong of me. '_

Rocky's eyes widened as the message sunk in. So did the others after reading his message. For a few brief moments, no one knew what to say. Ryder wished he had use of his voice so he could explain things now and get it off his chest, as well as ease the worry and anxiety of his pups.

"S-So... do your nightmares have something to do with... this whole secret thing you're talking about?" Marshall finally asked. Ryder nodded.

"Are they... bad?"

Skye didn't need to hear Ryder's answer to see that they were- she'd noticed earlier on that Ryder looked exhausted but wouldn't let his eyes close for even a second. She thought about bringing it up, but didn't want to make everyone uncomfortable and make Ryder feel even worse than what he was probably already feeling. So instead, she placed a paw on Ryder's leg, catching his attention.

"You know, you should rest, Ryder. Chase is finally catching up on some much needed sleep, so you should too. Right, pups?"

The others all nodded in agreement. Ryder felt fear bubbling in his chest- if he closed his eyes, if he fell asleep, he'd have another one for sure-

"Don't worry, Ryder." Skye had already resumed curling up in her spot, motioning for the others to do the same. "I checked the sign near the front desk- visiting hours aren't over until midnight. We've got time, and we'll be back tomorrow as soon as we can."

When he heard the barks and voices of approval and agreement, Ryder settled in his bed, holding Chase close and stroking Rubble's head with his free hand. He felt the soft fur of the others brushing against his skin. Suddenly the creepy hospital room, with its random beeps and drips, with the nurses and doctors walking past, the clicky-clack of their shoes echoing down the hall, none of it seemed so bad.

Perhaps it was because Chase's gentle snoring was closer, drowning out all the sounds of what made this place haunt him so. Or maybe it was the soft voices of the others talking amongst themselves, close by if he needed them. The hospital, the nightmares, even the few memories of his brother and past life, all of it seemed like it was slowly moving into the background. It wasn't being forgotten, that much, Ryder knew.

Instead, he was having memories of his pups running through his mind. He was recalling the fond times he had with each of them, of the missions and celebrations and even some of the harder times they shared. It made him sleepier, thinking of something good for a change. Despite wanting to talk with them more, Ryder's eyes fell closed against his will, and he was soon asleep before he could stop himself.

"Guys, guys." Skye quietly called. She put her paw to her lips and jerked her head towards Ryder. Once they saw Ryder's face smooth out and a tiny smile forming, Rocky, Zuma, Marshall and Rubble were relieved.

"Let's keep our voices down, so they can both rest." Rocky whispered. He felt a huge, huge weight lift off his shoulders- he was expecting Ryder to be angry, or at the least disappointed with how he had acted, both him and Chase. But now, seeing that Ryder didn't look upset made him feel like things were finally starting to look up. Confirming what he'd originally suspected was also a good feeling, too- Ryder DID trust them, but why hadn't he spoken up before?

 _'Chase mentioned to me when we were at the beach that Ryder had a fear of hospitals, but that he wasn't sure if Ryder ever told him the entire truth about what led to it. Perhaps after all this, maybe it changed his mind somehow?'_ the eco pup wondered as he zoned out. _'I wonder just how bad it must've been if he basically suppressed it for this long. And I wonder how we can help him get through it.'_

The other pups continued to talk quietly amongst themselves for a few minutes, mainly about what plans Chase might have, what new and nutty missions would await them, and how things would change once Ryder could actually start talking again. They were nervous about how the conversation would be once Ryder told them what was happening to him, and they wondered if they would be able to comfort him and help him just like he'd always helped them through their worst times.

"Hey, guys?" Marshall asked. The others looked at him, a bit worried at the solemn look on his face.

"M-Marshall...?"

The dally bit his lip in thought before he suddenly stuck out his paw towards them. "Let's make a promise. Right now."

"Uhhh...o-okay...?" Uncertainly, each pup placed their paw on top of Marshall's. "But what is it for?"

"To return the favor Ryder gave each of us." Marshall said softly. "He's always been there for us, especially since...well, we all don't have the best past life. But he picked us, US, a bunch of random pups to be part of HIS family. He picked us to help him move on from his pain, so... we have to make sure Ryder knows how much he means to us."

Zuma nodded. "I totally get you, dude." He grinned and looked at the others. "Mawshall's wight, don't you get it? We don't owe Wyder anything. It's just our tuwn to help him the way he's always helped us. Be thewe for him."

"No, no." Rocky chuckled. "I definitely get it. I do. It's just..." His smile fell.

"Do you think we'll be enough? To help Ryder? I mean, it sounds worse than just having a fear of hospitals, you know? What if we're not enough to help him REALLY move on?"

Skye shook her head no, confidence in her answer. "We ARE enough. We've always been enough for Ryder. Otherwise, he wouldn't have kept us all together as long as he has. He could've found another family, maybe even his mom and dad, and left us all here in Adventure Bay. But we proved to him that we were what he needed."

"Skye's right. We're enough for Ryder, and we know Ryder better than anyone. We love Ryder with all our hearts, and we wouldn't let anything happen to him, just like he's always protected and cared for us." Marshall looked at Rocky and firmly nodded.

"This is our promise. Not as the PAW Patrol... but as Ryder's family." Rocky inhaled and exhaled slowly, knowing in his own heart the others were right. _'We were hand picked by a lonely boy, a boy who should have never had a reason to trust us or anyone in this world. Now...'_

"Our promise to help Ryder the way he's always helped us. To love him, care for him, and never let him suffer ever again."

The other pups agreed, and Marshall realized Chase was still asleep. He giggled. "We'll fill Chase in on this later. I know him- he's going to agree."

Rubble let out a sudden, loud yawn before he smacked his lips together sleepily. "Well, this was awesome and all, but I actually want to get some _real_ sleep for once. Cn we take a nap before we leave?"

Laughing at Rubble rubbing his eyes, the pups checked the time- it was just turning 10 at night. "You know what, Rubble is right. We'll need to be at least somewhat awake if we're going to head home." Skye decided. She stretched her back before yawning and getting comfortable. "We've got another day ahead of us, pups."

"Whaaaa… oh yeah, visiting hours..." Marshall yawned as he laid his head down-was he just that exhausted or did all this talking wear him out? No matter, he thought to himself as his eyes quickly closed. Things felt a lot lighter now that the pups were reunited with their leader, and now that they knew what they had to do, they could begin to help Ryder- just as they promised.

Surrounded by his pups, feeling like a huge piece of him was put back into place, Ryder truly slept for the first time in days, Chase curled against his chest, Skye, Marshall and Rubble sleeping in a pile on his left, and Zuma and Rocky asleep on his right. This time, Ryder didn't have nightmares- he had a pleasant dream of talking with his brother again... about the family he realized he was so lucky to have in his life.

* * *

 **And done! Took awhile, and I'm not sure if this is how I wanted to get it, but the idea is there.**

 **Per usual, let me know what you all think, and let me know how you all feel about the new Mighty Pups special coming out at the end of the month.**

 **Until next chapter!**


	16. A Talk

**Hello all! Time for the next chapter! This will be an interlude, and loosely based on the episode 'Pups Save Ryder'.**

 **Please enjoy!**

* * *

 **Caretaker**

 **Interlude Chapter 16: A Talk**

 _When I opened my eyes, I didn't feel as tired as before. I didn't have any nightmares, either. I felt... normal. It was odd given my current situation, but I wasn't about to complain._

 _The last thing I could remember was talking to Alek. Well, not really talking, per se. He asked me a single question- "Do you feel happy now?" And oddly enough, I don't remember what I answered. It should have been yes, I do- because of the pups I was so lucky to have._

 _I noticed that the pups weren't here, and it was daytime- just how long was I asleep? I felt kind of sad that they had to leave me, but I knew that I needed to rest, so I wasn't too down in the dumps- at least, not about that._

 _They were taking things as best they could. I was so, so proud of them, I thought about throwing them a private surprise party once I got better. Just the seven of us. We hardly had time together since all the rescues started, and knowing certain... adults in Adventure Bay, even after this our time would be limited, so I wanted to take some out to thank them for being such wonderful friends. No, wait... for being my wonderful family._

 _I was mostly upset at myself for never talking with my pups about my past. I never thought that it would come back to haunt me- once I formed the PAW Patrol with them, our past never seemed as important. My past seemed like a distant memory, something that, as a young child, I'd hoped I would never have to think about ever again._

 _But I knew now, every person's- and pup's- past is important. It gave me an idea for how we could leave a legacy for anyone who would take over once we decided to retire._

 _I cringed. I'm only 10 and I was already thinking of retirement. The pups haven't exprienced life and I'm thinking of retiring them, too... man, we need a vacation._

 _I mulled over the conversation I did have with the pups; at least, what I could remember of it, as I was so exhauated I think I drifted in and out a lot. About Chase and Rocky's behavior, about the worried looks I was getting, about the town. I wasn't so much worried about the last two as I was about Chase, Marshall and Rocky._

 _Since they day I got them home, Chase and Rocky had always been at each other's necks- they were friends, but definitely rivals as well. Even though Rocky was about a year younger than him, he did have a lot of intelligence over Chase, which I think sometimes irritated Chase to absolutely no end. Rocky was always annoyed that Chase, being my second in command, could toss his authority- and sometimes his brute weight-around._

 _Marshall was usually the mediator between the two, always trying to get them to stop fighting and cool down. Zuma, being Rocky's best friend, would talk to him, and Skye, being Chase's close friend, would try and cool him down. Poor Rubble, being the youngest of my team, usually got scared when all the drama happened and would stay with me until things died down._

 _I wonder if that was it. If Chase's loyalty to my orders, no matter how crazy or secretive it may be, irritated Rocky's logical manner of thinking. I'd have to ask both of them once I got out of here- while I was glad they worked out their issues, it did concern me a little that they were arguing at all._

 _I let out a breath and sink into my bed. The stupid breathing thing stuck up my nose was starting to itch, and I wanted to take it out, but I figured it wasn't a good idea- I had no real clue how to remove it. I looked around my room, noticing how empty it was, and stared out the window, rubbing the spots where my pups were laying. I smiled softly at the thought of Chase, passing out completely against me, just like he used to when he was smaller..._

 _I wonder how they managed to get him home. He looked so ragged, but I was thinking that it was due to the guilt he must've felt about him snapping at the others. Even though he and Rocky seemed like they had an actual talk, Chase was definitely feeling down._

 _The others just looked... worn. More than likely from all the work they've been doing, as well as dealing with what happened with me. I frowned- just when the heck was I going to go home? They need me and I need to talk to them- I paused._

 _My voice is still gone. I growled as much as one could with no voice-this was starting to get irritating!_

 _Just as I was still seething, that nurse lady- they said her name was Cynthia?- came in to check on me. She seemed pleased that I'd actually gotten a full night's rest, and I did my best not to recoil at her presence._

 _If the pups could trust her, then so can I. But with my past, nurses weren't the easiest people to trust._

 _"Good morning, Ryder." She said, sitting down at the edge of my bed. I saw my chart in her hand, and her stethascope in the other. She set the chart on the bed, then set up her stethascope around her neck._

 _I tried to open my mouth to talk. "G-Good... morning..." It was raspy and quiet as heck, but at least I formed words. She was able to hear me, probably because of how quiet it was in the room, and she seemed pleased I was starting to talk a little. I pointed at the glass of water next to her as I sat up and started coughing- my throat was still pretty dry._

 _Cynthia helped me take a few large sips, and I sighed in relief- man, that was refreshing! I wanted more, but she put the glass back. "I'm sorry, Ryder. But we can't have you getting more sick from drinking this too fast. Maybe later I'll get you some ice to suck on, sounds good?"_

 _Ice... oh yeah, that sounded great! I nod and settle back as she took out a pen and opened up my chart. I was kind of nervous- I did not want her telling me I needed to stay here any longer! Was I at least getting better?_

 _"O-kay... well, I do have good news, finally. Your lab and other test results came back fairly normal." she started as she skimmed my chart. "Your iron is a bit low, so I would advise you take some iron supplements, but otherwise, you're healthy." She pasued and wrote something down._

 _"You did in fact have a real extreme case of strep throat, and the dehydration was more than likely you not caring for yourself right. Your other symptoms- the lost voice, extreme fever, exhaustion and weakness, I believe they were subset from the strep throat as well. But, looks like the treatment is working, which is wonderful!" she added on with a wider smile. I was starting to feel a little hopeful, and I had to ask, despite me barely getting my voice back._

 _"H-How... soon until I... I can go home?" I barely got out. Oh man, that did hurt though!_

 _Cynthia closed my chart. "Actually, within the next three to five days, provided at least 85-90% of your strength has returned by that point." She paused, then added, "And you've regained your voice, too."_

 _She leaned forward and pressed the round part of the stethascope to my chest. By this point, I knew what to do- I inhaled and exhaled slowly. She made me do this about five or six times. Afterwards, she checked my blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen levels (still don't know why) and lastly, made sure I had no hidden symptoms._

 _"Alright, Ryder. Even more good news- you're starting to expel the mucus out of your lungs. I think you might be ready to get off this thing." She indicated the tube thing I had in my nose. I nodded heavily- yes, I certainly was ready!_

 _"One of my assistants is going to come in and remove it, and then give you the usual medication. Get some more rest and we're going to see about getting you some food later, alright?" she said as she got up. I smiled- wait until I could show my pups I was getting better! They would be so excited!_

 _My stomach growled and I put my hands over it, blushing a little. I can't remember the last thing I was actually able to keep down... or finish...but I sure was starving. I think about a hearty burger, with the works, and a order of fries and an ice cold lemonade from Mr. Porters-_

 _"Oh, but Ryder?" She called as she turned to head out. I looked at her._

 _"I need you to answer some questions about your previous visit here. For medical purposes. It seems your chart was changed and a lot of your previous stay wasn't in your chart. Before you are discharged I will need to interview you, understand?"_

 _I arched an eyebrow as she left without another word, closing the door behind her. My previous visit... when I hurt my legs? How come that wasn't already there? I barely remembered what happened myself! I shrugged and decided not to linger on that worrisome fact, instead choosing to get some more rest so that I would be alert when the pups came by._

 _Although... that nagged at me. I wonder what she meant when she siad my chart had been 'changed?' How is it possible that no one knew that for this long? And how come the pups didn't tell her themselves? Especially Marshall? Hmm... maybe I should ask about that at some point._

* * *

 _ **Three Days Later...**_

 _I smiled in pure joy as Farmer Al and Farmer Yumi came to pick me up. After... how long was I here, anyways? Like two weeks? I didn't care- I was finally getting out of here!_

 _Per usual, despite me being able to save Adventure Bay countless times, I couldn't sign myself out. The pups were around me, happily chattering and barking and just as glad as I was that I was finally getting out of here. I could finally share laughter with my pups and it felt good!_

 _I listened to one of the assistants giving Al and Yumi instructions for my care, with Marshall so focused and listening in that it actually kind of scared me a little. I hadn't seen that look in his eyes since-_

 _"Ryder?" Cynthia called, waving me over. I sighed. Chase, who was sitting in my lap, heard me and whined a little._

 _"R-Ryder...? Are you... alright?"_

 _I pet Chase's head and nod. "Yeah. I... I need to talk to Cynthia, just for a moment." I explain as I gently inch him off me. "Stay here, okay?"_

 _Yumi saw Cynthia waving at me, and I motioned with my hand for her to bring me over. She was worried, too- she probably thought I was going to get sent back in the hospital._

 _"Ryder? Is everything alright?" Yumi asked in a low voice so the others wouldn't hear. "What does she want with you now? It's time for you to come home and rest!"_

 _"Don't worry. It's just to talk about my last visit here. Although..." I thought about it for a moment then called for Marshall. The others turned their heads as well, all their smiles and happiness slowly falling as they saw Cynthia standing there, chart in hand._

 _"Pups, don't worry. I'm not staying another moment in here." I put on my most assuring smile and lean forward. The others run to me, whimpering and whining in worry. I knew how much they wanted me to come home, and now it just seemed like I was stalling. I felt terrible, but I knew this was important._

 _"Cynthia needs to update my chart. So she needs to hear about that accident that happened to me, and I need Marshall with me for all the medical stuff." I hug them tight and sit up. Marshall steps forward and nods._

 _"I'm ready to go with you, Ryder." he said with that serious look again. I feel a twinge of fear in my chest- I really didn't like Marshall so... out of character. I expected a joke, some kind of funny wipeout, but not him looking so forlorn. Then again, this wasn't exactly a laughing matter._

 _"Alright. Let's hurry so Farmer Yumi and Farmer Al can take us home." Yumi wheeled me down the hall, following Cynthia into a small office. I knew Yumi wouldn't be allowed to stay with us, but with Marshall here, I didn't feel as scared and wary as I had before._

 _"We'll wait for you in the lobby area, okay Ryder?" Yumi told me as she gave me a hug. In my ear, she whispered, "I'm so glad you're coming home. You gave us a good scare."_

 _I chuckled lightly and returned the hug. "I'm sorry, Farmer Yumi. I didn't mean to worry you guys. But thank you for everything."_

 _Once Yumi left, Cynthia closed the door, and positioned me close to the desk. She walked around and sat down in what I assumed to be her desk chair, and Marshall hopped on my lap, a cautious look on his face. I scratched his head, trying to relax him._

 _"It's going to be okay, Marshall. It won't take long." I reassured him. Marshall smiled a little, but I could still see he was just as anxious to get away from this place as I was._

 _"Alright, Ryder. Marshall, was it?" she asked him. Marshall was sitting on my lap, a little nervous. He nodded anyways. Cynthia took out her pen and opened my chart._

 _"Alright. I just want to have this on hand for any future visits- hopefully none as extreme as this one." she explained to me. I looked down at Marshall and sighed; well, here we go..._

 _"Uhhh, well, like I said... I don't really remember much. It was about a year, maybe a year and a half ago?" I started slowly, tapping my chin as I tried to remember exactly what happened. "It was a pretty nice day and I decided to go explore some of Adventure Bay's nature trails, and I found this one called 'Big View Trail'. It definitely lived up to its name- that was for sure..."_

* * *

 _ **A Year Ago, on Big View Trail...**_

 _ **Ryder whistled his favorite tune as he continued his early morning hike. He had gotten lucky- the pups were all sound asleep after a fun party celebrating Skye's birthday the night before. Ryder was up early, as he was prone to doing, having nothing better to be doing.**_

 _ **He didn't want to disturb the pups, so he put on his sneakers and decided to take a walk. He needed to clear his head, anyways.**_

 _ **Lately, he'd been having a strange dream, talking with strange people, seeing flashes and images of a life he felt wasn't his. But it felt very familiar, almost like he knew them. Who they were, he had no idea- and it was so frustrating!**_

 _ **The pups had noticed Ryder getting distracted; Chase had asked him time and again about it. But he always had a smile on his face and told them nothing was wrong... when he knew that was a lie.**_

 _ **On their last mission, Mayor Goodway and Farmer Yumi were talking about taking a nature walk along a trail that was known for their 'panoramic views'. Of course, Ryder looked into it, and decided it was worth taking the trip. Which lead to him walking, whistling and feeling the most relieved he'd felt in a while.**_

 _ **Birds were chirping as the early sun rose over the hills. He inhaled deeply and exhaled- the air tasted fresh, nothing like his hometown-**_

 _ **He paused. His hometown... where was that? Outside of Adventure Bay? How come he never took the pups there to visit the place?**_

 _ **"Maybe that'll be the next trip we take..." Ryder told himself as he resumed walking. Soon he came to a hill, and he took his time walking. The views really were just as the ladies said- Ryder wished he'd taken a camera so he could show the pups.**_

 _ **"They would love it here, especially Chase and Marshall... they could run around in the grass and- woah! No way!" he gasped as he reached the top.**_

 _ **Ryder felt like a king- he could see EVERYTHING from up there! The bustling town of Adventure Bay seemed so small from where he stood, and to the left he spotted a massive bridge half covered in clouds. To the right, he saw a vastly foggy, almost sad looking little island. He frowned in hard thought- had he ever been there before?**_

 _ **"Maybe I can ask Mayor Goodway about that place... but it sure seems kind of creepy." He mused. Pretty quickly, that thought was lost and Ryder resumed his walk down the hill, whistling happily as he thought of the six soon to be awake pups that would probably be hungry by now.**_

* * *

 _"So I walked down the path, and I took out my pup pad to take a few pictures. It was all I had planned to do before I headed home to the pups." I paused, waiting as she processed everything, scratching behind Marshall's ear. He was still awake but quiet._

 _"Okay. Then what?"_

 _I tapped my chin, trying to remember the right information. "Well, I heard a bleating noise, and I found a goat- at the time, I didn't know it was Farmer Al's goat named Garbie. I guess he must've wandered far from home. To be honest, I still don't know how he got where he was."_

 _"And where was he?" she asked._

 _"Stuck on a ledge right below my path."_

 _"So you tried to rescue him?" she asked, writing all this down. I nodded. "Yeah. I'm the leader of the PAW Patrol, and Garbie did 'yelp for help', so I had to do something."_

 _"I'm guessing that's when something happened?" she asked as she put her pen down._

 _I nodded quietly. "Y-Yeah... it did."_

* * *

 ** _"Just... h-hang on a minute, goat…!" Ryder grunted as he stretched his hiking stick towards the bleating animal. Garbie kept crying for help- and he soon saw way. The animal's horns were stuck on a curled up branch. To make matters worse, the ledge was crumbling away from under him._**

 ** _Ryder gasped- he had to think fast or the goat was going to fall! Seeing his stick gave him an idea. "Hey, goat!" Ryder called out. Once he got its attention, Ryder laid on his stomach and stretched out his arm. "Here, grab on!"_**

 ** _The goat tried to bite at the stick, but it wasn't quite long enough. Frustrated, Ryder tossed the stick away._**

 ** _"Think, Ryder, think..." The young boy scanned the area behind him, hoping he could find something much longer and stronger to help pull Garbie out. Then it occurred to him- maybe one of the pups could come help him!_**

 ** _Tapping his Pup Pad, Ryder sent out a call to Mission Control, hoping the sound would rouse at least Chase awake, as he was usually the first to arise. But after three minutes, he got no reply. Ryder let out a frustrated sigh and turned it off._**

 ** _"O-kay, the pups are still asleep. Now what do I do?!"_**

 ** _Unsure of what other options he had, Ryder opted to climb down the crumbling ledge to see if there was any way that the two of them could backtrack up. Using a stray tree branch, Ryder shimmed his way down and gulped- the ledge sure was steeper than he thought..._**

 ** _"Ooaf! Gah, made it!" Ryder said as he landed with a hard thud on the ledge. The goat kept bleating and watched as Ryder struggled to get him free. At the same time, the branch snapped up and stranded them there. Ryder stared upwards, his spirits sinking._**

 ** _"Ohhhh boy. What a mess I got us into, huh buddy?" Ryder said as he tried to find another way out. He peered over the crumbling ledge and gulped._**

 ** _A piece of it broke off and tumbled all the down the steep slope, breaking apart once it hit the road. Ryder realized that he truly needed help- there was no way down. So he once again called his pups. This time, Chase and Rocky answered._**

* * *

 _"Chase had just gotten up, and he had been looking for me when I called them. Rocky was the second one to wake up- I can't remember what he said he was doing. I think working on an eco project or something like that." I continued. By this point, Cynthia wasn't writing anything down anymore, she was listening pretty intensely._

 _"When they answered, they asked me if I was okay, then I showed them Garbie and the whole mess I was in. Chase realized that I needed help and that it would take too long to get to me, so the plan was to have Skye fly him over to me and use her harness to get us off the ledge and lower us down."_

 _"But that didn't happen, did it."_

 _I shook my head no, looking down at Marshall. "No. Um... Chase and Skye- well, it was really my own fault- we all miscalculated how long it would take to get both of us off the ledge. And the fact that there was a heavy goat on a weak ledge, with a nine year old, not so experienced leader. So, um... that ended pretty badly."_

* * *

 ** _As the ledge crumbled away faster and faster, Chase told Ryder that he would be there with the other pups as backup as soon as he could and hung up. Ryder sighed in relief, but the worry quickly returned when he realized that the ledge was going to take down at least the goat if he didn't do something._**

 ** _Freeing the animal wasn't so bad. Ryder kept him calm, pushing him closer to the back as the ledge kept crumbling. He briefly wondered how there weren't any cars driving down the road. Of course, just at that moment, a loud horn from an oncoming car startled the goat so badly he bucked his head, knocking Ryder- and his Pup Pad- backwards, off the ledge._**

 ** _The next few moments were filled with pain and screaming as Ryder tumbled down the steep ledge, barely able to protect his head before he was met harshly with hard concrete. The young boy blacked out for a moment- he'd landed on his legs and the pain was that intense._**

 ** _"RYDER! Oh my gosh, answer me! Ryder! Ryder!" Chase was screaming into the now broken Pup Pad. Ryder's arm and both of his legs were bleeding and definitely broken. He also didn't realize he broke at least two ribs, and was heavily bruised. He struggled to breathe and roll on his side, but the sharp, blinding pain of his damaged legs made that task feel almost impossible._**

* * *

 _"I, um... I don't remember anything after that. The pain was pretty bad and I just... I blacked out." I admitted. Marshall finally spoke up at this point._

 _"Chase said he heard Ryder screaming and the screen was spinning before it just landed with a thud. He rushed to wake us up and told us that we needed to get in our vehicles and get going now to find him. But we had no idea where he had went."_

 _"So how did you all save him?"_

 _Marshall looked real guilty and disappointed as he licked his lips to answer the question. "W-We... we didn't. Mr. Porter did... he was doing a delivery down the same stretch of road, and he said there was something that looked like roadkill in the middle of it. When he got closer... he realized it was Ryder."_

 _He took a shuddering breath and I placed my hand on his back, hoping that would comfort him a little. Was I really in that bad of shape? "H-He, uh... he was pretty banged up from the fall. A lot of blood everywhere and we didn't know if he hit his head or..."_

 _I opened my mouth to tell Marshall things were fine and that we could cut this short, for his sake, but he raised his paw and shook his head. "I was... still in training as the EMT pup at the time. " he went on, his voice losing its strength. I was getting worried now- Marshall was still affected by all of this._

 _"Marshall..."_

 _"I... I was still kind of new. So I didn't know what I was supposed to do when I saw him. All I could see was blood and broken legs and it was so, so scary! I started crying and freaking out. Even Chase was scared- he was trying not to be, though. He was still trying to be our temporary leader... since we didn't really know if we would have one after that."_

 _I felt a jolt of pain through my chest. It was THAT bad? "Marshall, Marshall." I whispered. He was shaking too much now- we didn't really need to relieve the whole nightmare. "Hey, now. It's fine. Don't bother with all this."_

 _"Mr. Porter saved him, but we made a LOT of mistakes at first. We learned he'd almost snapped his legs clean in half, had a couple broken ribs, a concussion, and a lot of blood loss and bruising. He needed a LOT of time to heal...but we wanted him home. We didn't want to leave him at that hospital."_

 _Cynthia looked confused. "What do you mean?"_

 _Marshall chewed on his bottom lip. I urged him to tell her._

 _"We... we asked Mr. Porter to take him home. Broken, bloody and all. We-we told him we could handle it." Marshall squeezed his eyes shut. "Chase didn't want us to leave his side, and he REALLY did not trust doctors at that time, so he thought we could all take care of him at home, instead o-of... of bringing him to someplace that could."_

 _I froze. "Marshall..." I breathed. I couldn't believe that- so that was why Chase beat himself up so badly now? That was why Marshall felt so guilty for "failing me?" I didn't even know what I could say to make his guilt go away. "I-I didn't know..."_

 _Marshall looked up at me, his bottom lip trembling. "T-Then you got sick... s-some kind o-of infection... it... I..." He got choked up with emotion and couldn't finish. I hugged him tight, whispering in his ear to calm him._

 _Now I understood. Why Chase, not once, let me even do simple things like checking my Pup Pad. Why Marshall got so angry at me when I wanted to see how the townspeople were doing, instead of resting. Why Skye, Rubble and Zuma were constantly staying with me at night, although no one would tell me anything. And why Rocky was lashing out at everyone, shutting himself out- even me._

 _Why my pups all felt like failures when I got into that accident. Why Chase wanted to step down. Why none of them ever felt the same after that, constantly wanting me to reassure them that things were fine. I wasn't the only one with stuff on my shoulders, weighing me down._

 _Cynthia finished writing in my chart. "... thank you, Marshall." she said quietly. "I think I'm filling the blanks in now."_

 _"Well, I'm glad you are getting this information." I said firmly. Marshall was upset, and that wasn't supposed to be the case. It was supposed to be a good day- I was finally going home. "But my pup is getting distressed and the others are worried about me. So if you don't need anything else from us, can we leave now?"_

 _Cynthia looked at Marshall a moment and sighed. She closed my chart and nodded in agreement. "I think we can wrap it up for today. Let's get you back out there, Ryder."_

 _She wheeled me back out, and the others perked up at the sound of my wheels rolling down the hall. Farmer Yumi seemed far more relieved that I was finally out after over forty-five minutes. The others just seemed worried, and I had a feeling it wasn't just about me._

 _Chase was the first one over, and once he saw Marshall sniffling in my arms and Cynthia talking to the others, he knew something was wrong. "I-Is Marshall okay, Ryder?" he asked hesitantly. I shook my head no; I'd have to explain everything later. I was tired, the pups were tired and we were all glad this ordeal was done and over with._

 _"F-Farmer Yumi, could I ask you for one favor?"_

 _After almost an hour and fifteen minutes, with the pups and Farmer Yumi gathering all my discharge information and follow up date for my check in, I was carefully loaded into the back of Farmer Yumi's pickup- Marshall riding with me since he was too upset and distracted to drive his firetruck- and the others all loaded into their respective vehicles. After securing Marshall's firetruck to the back of her truck, I settled in for a ride, holding Marshall close as he started to calm down._

 _"Its going to be okay now, Marshall." I whisper to him as Yumi started the truck. "We'll be okay. I just know it..."_

 _I leaned my head against the window and watched the parking lot zoom behind me. My hand absently strokes Marshall's back. Soon, she turned down the road and headed for the Lookout- for our home._

 _Of course, there was far more talks to be had- I finally owed the pups an explanation about my past, my family, and why I blocked it out for so long. They had to explain to me what they were thinking the day I got in that accident._ _I had a massive thank you party to plan- and with me still on bed rest and on duty leave until I was 100 percent again, that wouldn't be so hard._

 ** _'Marshall... Chase... Pups... I know you've all had so much on you guys. And I have so much I want to get out, but for right now, all I can say is thank you. Thank you for being such strong, dependable, wonderful pups.'_** _I end up dozing off, thoughts of party decorations floating around my head as I planned out how I was going to suprise the pups._

 _The last, last thing I remember before I was fully knocked out was Alek smiling widely at me, holding something in his hands. And it made me wish... that I had you with us, Alek... you would be so proud of me, of the pups... of all the work we've done._

* * *

 **And complete! This was the longest chapter to date, but at least now the fated accident has been explained! Now for the home stretch- the healing of the pups and Ryder.**

 **Expect some cute, emotional and past-revealing chapters coming up. And please, as always, let me know what you all think of this one.**

 **Until next chapter!**


	17. Home

**Hello all! Time for some fluffy pup and Ryder goodness as we near the home stretch of this project of mine. Also, I just saw the new Mighty Pups, and I wanted to know what you guys thought of it.**

 **Otherwise, I hope you all enjoy!** **I own nothing, per usual. All belongs to SpinMaster.**

* * *

 **Caretaker**

 **Chapter 17- Home**

"I've got the popcorn!" Rubble called as he dragged a bowl full of the steaming hot, popped goodness into the lounge. He pushed it with his nose towards the others, who had all gathered around a still recovering Ryder. Ryder's bed had to be moved downstairs until he was strong enough to go back to normal duties...

And by moving downstairs, it meant Farmer Al taking apart his own bed from his room, having Farmer Yumi help him carry the pieces down to the lounge, the pups cleaning out the lounge to make space for the bed, and Farmer Al putting the whole thing together, with Rocky's help and tools. It took about four hours, and during the entire time, the other pups had to make sure Ryder didn't try to walk away from his wheelchair... which, for five small pups, was no small task.

Ryder sighed in bliss as he snuggled in his own, freshly washed and dried pillows and blankets. His bed felt like heaven on earth, and he was so glad to finally be home. That hospital bed was so uncomfortable! He wondered how he didn't have bruises, the bed was that hard!

"Hurry up, Rubble!" Ryder heard Rocky call out, snapping him out his blissful happiness. He looked over at the five pups who were at the bottom end of the bed, squished shoulder to shoulder with each other, except for Rubble, who was finally making his way into the lounge. He smiled softly and reached to pet the closest pup, that being Skye.

"Teehee, that feels great, Ryder!" Skye exclaimed at the sudden loving scratches she was receiving. The others -minus two pups- all scrambled to Ryder, licking him and giving him lots of well-needed attention as he tried to keep up with all the extra weight on him.

"H-Hold on, hold on!" Ryder laughed. While he knew his body couldn't handle all the stress, he wasn't ready to let the pups go just yet.

"Okay, guys." Chase firmly ordered, sitting in his professional posture. He gave all the pups a stern look before he pointed over his shoulder. "Ryder isn't ready for all that excitement just yet. Come on, off. Off, guys."

The pups whined, ears drooped and sad, as they slowly shuffled back to their original spots. Chase felt terrible for sounding so bossy, but Ryder was just getting better, and he simply couldn't handle all the love they wanted to shower him with- even Chase. They had to treat him carefully for awhile.

Marshall came over to Ryder as the pups were moving away. He was tense and awfully quiet, and Ryder had a hunch he knew what was on his mind. Without saying a word, Marshall had his thermometer out and ready to take Ryder's temperature and other vitals. Afterwards, he asked how Ryder was truly feeling.

"Honestly... my throat still kinda hurts. And I still feel weak from fighting off this thing and all that medicine they had to give me." he answered truthfully before he pat Marshall on the head. "But I'm really glad to be home with you guys. I'll get fully well soon, alright? So please don't worry about me too much."

Ryder had only been home for roughly two days and there was a LOT he needed to get caught up on, and a LOT he needed to tell them. But Marshall, being the EMT/medical pup and Ryder's caregiver, refused to let him so much as touch his PupPad or help out on missions until he was back to full health.

That worried the young boy. Marshall, out of all the pups, hadn't really been himself- at least, from what he could see. It seemed like he was tense, scared of something happening to him, and whenever Ryder had a small sneeze or cough, Marshall almost always leapt at him, fearful that Ryder was going to get sick again.

Chase wasn't any better. Even now, as the pups and himself were settling in to watch Toy Story, Chase was constantly tapping his paws on the sheet. His left hind leg was bouncing up and down, unable to stay still. He just screamed nervous. Ryder tilted his head, wondering how he could help them relax for tonight. Then he glanced down next to him, and an idea formed.

 _'I know I haven't done this with them in a LONG time, but I think tonight calls for all the stops.'_

"Hey, um...pups?" Ryder called hesitantly. He knew they were getting older, and snuggling in bed with him was something each of them did when they were FAR smaller. But this was a emotional situation- one that Ryder felt deserved all the love and vulnerability he could give.

The pups looked at him in awe. His arms were spread open, a crooked smile on his face. "You guys still think you're too old for snuggling?" he asked. None of the pups knew what to say- so they let their actions speak for them.

Rubble finally made his way back to the bed, the bowl of popcorn tiltling close to the edge. Once he saw the others nestled close to Ryder, he yipped and accidentally kicked the bowl over the edge. In shock, poor Rubble peered over the edge at the fallen snacks, and then to the others with the biggest set of sad puppy dog eyes ever.

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do that!" he cried, sitting down in defeat. Ryder just shook his head, and motioned with his one free hand to get on over to them. The others were content without the popcorn- they'd clean it later.

"Well, in hindsight, you did take like FOOOOREVERRRR to get that popcorn, Rubble!" Rocky laughed as he patted his friend's back.

"Oh yeah, Well you try getting to such a HIGH microwave-" he sat up and shoved his pudgy paws in Rocky's face- "-with THESE little itty bitty paws!"

Rocky playfully pushed them down and rolled his eyes, mouthing "yeah, yeah, Rubble." Rubble, being the child he was, stuck his tongue out at him. Ryder gently swatted both of their heads.

"Pups, the movie is starting. No teasing each other." he semi instructed. Rubble and Rocky looked at the movie and quietly apologized before they were finally settled for the film.

As the movie played, Ryder used the distraction to get a good observation of his pups. Skye was the smallest, so she fit perfectly on his lap. She was curled into a ball, watching the movie with a light bob of her head as the song "You've got a Friend in Me" played. She seemed worn out, but not... stressed out. Ryder tilted his head. Perhaps she was stressed out but doing a good job of hiding it? He wasn't sure.

Rocky was laid closest to his right side. Tilting his head without raising suspicion, Ryder spotted slight bags under Rocky's eyes, and did not think it was because of more eco projects. He scratched Rocky's side, earning a nuzzle from him. _'Rocky's definitely tired and stressed. I can feel it. I'll need to talk to him, too.'_

Rubble was next to his left leg, laying flat on his belly, childishly laughing at Buzz saying his famous quote- "To infinity and beyond!"- while trying to talk about who was better, Buzz or Apollo the Superpup. Ryder couldn't help the smile spreading across his face- next to Marshall, Rubble often brought the life of the party with his literal childish behavior. Of course, being the youngest had its perks- Ryder's smile fell.

 _'I was the younger brother. Alek always picked on me, just like the pups do Rubble sometimes, but just like them... he always loved me and kept me safe. Taught me new things, helped me pick up my first tool... I miss you a lot, Alek. And I know Rubble was just as scared of everything and probably wants to make sure I'm okay. Such a kind pup, Rubble. Especially since we know what it feels like to be on our own at a young age...'_

"R-Ryder?" Marshall's worried tone cut through his hazy thoughts- and with a shocked gasp, he realized he'd been crying. Or at the least, tears had begun to roll down his cheeks. Quickly wiping his cheeks, Ryder gave a quick pat on Marshall's head, reassuring him he was fine. Marshall didn't buy it for a second but didn't want to ruin the quality time they finally had.

 _'It needs to be the right time. Definitely not now.'_ he told himself as he looked down at Zuma. The chocolate pup was curled against Ryder's left, head resting on his arm and a paw lazily thrown over his lap. He seemed pretty distracted, even depressed- his eyes seemed a bit less... lively than usual. Worried about him, Ryder nudged his arm, getting Zuma to look up.

"Are you alright, Zuma?" Ryder asked as he assessed his water rescue pup. "You look a little down. Are you sick?"

Zuma forced a small smile- Ryder knew his pups well enough to know when they were trying to hide what bothered them. _'It wasn't like I was any better, really.'_ he thought sadly to himself.

"I-I'm okay, Wyder. I think I might fall asleep soon." Zuma answered quietly. Ryder tilted his head, wishing he could at least pet his head- but his other arm had a mixed pup occupying it.

"Are you sure, Zuma? Do you want to talk?" he pushed a little more.

Zuma considered it, then gave another fake smile and snuggled against him more. "... m-maybe later...? I just wanna watch the movie with you." he whispered. Ryder bit his lip but nodded- he would need to talk to Zuma, too. _'Zuma is only a few months older than Rubble. I wonder what's on his mind. Zuma isn't one to have to worry about emotions- he usually just goes with the flow. Although with the way things were going... ah, I get it.'_

"...alright. We'll talk when you're ready." Ryder respected Zuma's wish. Zuma mumbled a barely audible thanks before Ryder's eyes fell on the last pair of pups.

Chase and Marshall were sitting side by side nearest the screen, snuggled under Chase's thick blanket that he had with him earlier that day. Ryder couldn't see their faces, but judging by their postures, he knew they both had a lot building up inside of them- a lot Ryder needed to address as soon as possible.

 _'Both of these two have always taken on the brunt of a lot of things around here. With Chase being the police pup and my second in command, and Marshall my firepup AND EMT pup... they've had to deal with a lot.'_ He tried to remain calm so the others wouldn't suspect anything, but deep inside, Ryder felt like an idiot.

 _'I've trained them all to do jobs that six ADULTS should be doing! I should be playing with them, doing more activities with them, heck, even something like this! But this is the first time we've been able to relax, and I had to get deathly sick for it to happen! We should be going to the beach, to the park, eating junk food until we get ill... but no. I have these pups, the greatest animals a boy like me should even deserve... working so, so hard. Remaining so loyal to me, never once questioning why they live like this... it's just not fair...'_

The film ended roughly one and a half hours later. All the pups were tuckered out and sound asleep, and to Ryder's shock, he noticed not one person in Adventure Bay- or Foggy Bottom- 'yelped for help.' He wiggled his arms free of his slumbering pups and let out a massive yawn. Checking the time, he was amazed- it was pushing towards midnight.

"Good night, pups." Ryder whispered into the quiet lounge. "I love you guys..."

* * *

The next morning, Ryder's voice was getting stronger. He was now able to call for a pup who was within lounge room distance whenever he needed something, and he was- finally-able to move around, albeit very slowly, as his body was now starting to catch up to the fact he was actually home and free to walk.

Ryder was still under constant watch by the pups, but this morning was slightly different. Zuma, Rubble and Chase had been called away to a mission over at Foggy Bottom- after weeks of laying quiet, Chase found out Mayor Humdinger was back to his old- far too old- pranks on Mayor Goodway. While Chase and others were away, Marshall, Rocky, and Skye were still asleep on Ryder's bed.

Ryder looked over his shoulder as he sat up, stretching his stiff arms and shoulders. He felt a lot better since he was able to sleep someplace far more comfortable, and with his pups around him. But a heavy guilt still weighted him down- the fact that he was practically helpless until his next appointment.

His face scrunched into a frown. "Surely I can make myself some cereal and juice, right? I mean, the kitchen is literally a few steps away!" Ryder mumbled to himself. He heard a shuffle and checked to make sure he didn't wake the pups. When he saw them still sound asleep, his eyes fell on Marshall.

"Marshall needs to sleep. I don't think they've gotten much rest since this happened." Ryder decided with a determined grunt that he was going to make himself some breakfast.

"After all, how am I supposed to be a leader if I have to rely on my pups for every last thing?"

Ryder, as quietly as carefully as possible, shuffled past his bed and made his way to the kitchen. As he did, he was unaware that one of his "sleeping" pups was now awake and biting his lip in an attempt to keep his mouth shut.

 _'R-Ryder... do you really think that you're a burden to us?'_

Ryder panted as one hand gripped the threshold of the kitchen- he realized that his body was hit from the illness a LOT more than he expected. His chest felt like it was burning, but he swallowed it back, determined to make himself some breakfast and eat!

"O-Okay... no-no biggie. Just... just g-gotta get... to the fridge..." he panted. He stood up a bit straighter and slowly made his way over to the fridge. Opening it, he spotted a freshly purchased half gallon of milk, and smiled- the pups even remembered to go grocery shopping?

"Good pups... doesn't even begin to cover it... with them." Ryder sighed as he grabbed the milk, set it down and closed the fridge. He doubled over, still slightly winded.

"I wonder... if its because... I haven't b-been moving... a-around...?" Ryder asked himself. _'Maybe I should ask Marshall... he would know.'_

Deciding to ignore the strange shortness of breath, Ryder reached up in the cabinet and felt around for his favorite box of Super Apollo Frosted Flakes. Once his fingers brushed against something, he managed to pull it down. He smiled- finally, some real food! Well, sort of. Still better than hospital food, that's for sure.

Ryder took his time preparing his cereal and pouring himself some orange juice. Once he was finally done, he carefully shuffled back to the bed and sat down with a huge, loud sigh of relief. The movement of the bed woke up Rocky.

"M-Mornin'... R-Ryder..." Rocky yawned before he turned his head and went back to sleep. Ryder giggled lightly- he'd thought by now Rocky would be up, running off to the dump like he usually did at this time of day.

"Sorry, pups." Ryder whispered. He sat his breakfast down and maneuvered back into bed, planning to watch a few videos on how to repair an ATV to keep him occupied. After about five minutes of crunching away, Ryder lowered the pup pad and tilted his head.

"Are you alright, Marshall?" Said pup gasped- how did he know he was awake?

"Marshall, you're fidgeting so much you're kicking Rocky... and my foot." Ryder explained with a patient smile. He patted the now empty space next to him. Marshall didn't even try to argue, he simply crawled his way over. They sat together while Ryder finished his breakfast. Marshall had no clue how to begin to explain what was going on in his head.

"Hey, Marshall, I REALLY want to go outside and get some fresh air. Come with me, please?" Ryder requested. Whimpering because he was certain he was going to get in trouble, Marshall crawled over Ryder's lap and hopped off the bed. Ryder took a little longer, but soon, the pair was walking through the double doors and sitting outside, Ryder's legs dangling over his garage.

"R-Ryder...?" Marshall finally spoke up in a tiny voice. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"Oh, don't worry, silly dally." Ryder scratched behind his ear, still looking out at the roads ahead as the sun slowly rose over the horizon. "I'm not mad at you. You never were really good at being sneaky- oddly enough, except in Pup-Fu lessons. So Farmer Yumi tells me."

Marshall chuckled, a bit humbled but mostly embarrassed. "Y-Yeah... I try super hard so I can be the best. Like... Like you are, Ryder."

The last part caught Ryder a little off guard and he actually had to look at his pup. "Wait a moment. You think I'm the best?" he asked, head tilted. Marshall snuggled closer to him and nodded.

"Well, we all think so. That's why you're our leader. That's why..." He trailed off, his bottom lip trembling. Ryder's expression softened when he finally caught on to what Marshall was trying not to say.

"Marshall. Be honest with me." The pup looked at him, huge blue eyes full of unshed tears.

"Did you really think I was going to die?"

The air around them was completely still. Marshall's eyes slowly widened. Ryder's expression didn't change, gentle and firm as he waited for an answer.

After what felt like an eternity, Marshall finally, finally answered: "... y-yeah. I did..."

Ryder nodded but didn't say anything for a moment. Marshall didn't know what else to say- he thought getting at least the most morbid thought out of his head and off his chest would help with the tight feeling he was experiencing. But it seemed to get worse by the second.

"Ryder, let me-"

"It's okay, Marshall. It... it kind of felt like I was dying." Ryder spoke up. He looked at the sky, watching as the blue hues finally settled in. He wondered how the others were doing on their mission. "That was the one time I felt so scared of dying... the other time, I think you remember."

"Was it... like that?" Marshall wondered. Ryder shook his head no.

"That time, even though I was still new to the whole thing, it wasn't as scary. Everything literally happened in seconds- I tried to save Garbie, I lost my footing and then just... well, black. The pain was sharp, but just for a moment. I didn't even realize how fast I'd passed out."

Ryder stretched his arms. "This time... I knew I was getting sick. I felt the progression of me getting sick. I felt my body slowing down, but I never would have thought that I was so sick I would need to make another trip to the hospital."

"You-you felt it?" Marshall repeated.

"Yeah. But the part of my feeling like I was dying, that was later. I... I kept having these nightmares, and each time, it made me wonder if I would ever see you guys again."

Marshall knew about the nightmares, but didn't know the exact details behind them. _'I wonder, is that what Ryder has to talk about? The nightmares definitely have something to do with whatever he needs to tell us, I know it!'_

The pair sat in silence for a long while. Marshall had to admit, the air did feel nice- it felt right, just sitting here with Ryder. He kind of felt glad he had the young boy all to himself for a little longer.

"Wonder how Chase and the others are doing..." Marshall mused. Ryder hummed in agreement.

"Say, Marshall."

"Yeah?"

Ryder yawned and stretched before he leaned back on his arms. "When I was in the hospital... how were things out here? Honestly? It seemed like you all were so stressed out. Especially you and Chase."

Marshall laughed. "We're not really good at hiding things from you, Ryder!" Then he settled down and tapped his cheek in thought.

"Well, hectic for one. Chase was definitely feeling a lot of pressure. We, uh... we kind of got into an argument before you went to the hospital..."

"Who's 'we'?"

"Me, Chase and Rocky. Well, Chase and me at first and then Chase and Rocky." Marshall sat up and yawned loudly. "I was just mostly worried about him, you know? When you first started showing signs-"

"Um, Marshall? I don't mean to cut you off, but... I owe you a HUGE apology." Ryder seemed a bit down. "I caused you pups a lot of worry, and I should have listened to you before, especially when you asked to look me over that day we had to go to save Farmer Yumi."

Marshall blinked. He was definitely not expecting to hear that at all. "R-Ryder...? It's a-alright. Really. We're just glad you're home." Then he took on a playfully serious tone, sitting up and pointing at him.

"Next time, though, don't EVER ride your ATV under medication!"

Ryder rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, I had a feeling someone was going to say something about that. I'm sorry, Marshall. I didn't mean to worry you like that, either."

"Well, I'll accept your apology... on one condition." Marshall grinned playfully, hopping into Ryder's arms and licking his cheeks. Ryder laughed and hugged him, waiting.

"Next time you feel like you're getting so much as a TICKLE in your nose, you tell us!" Marshall jabbed a paw in Ryder's face, his playfully happy expression suddenly serious. "You think you're some kind of burden to us just because you're our leader, and that's not true! You hear me, Ryder?!"

"Uh, ummm… Marshall, I-"

Marshall lowered his paw. "I heard you. This morning." he admitted quietly. Ryder felt even more guilty- of course he'd say something like that after the ordeal he just went through.

"Marshall, that... that's not what I meant by that."

"You sure? Because we all notice that you take on a LOT on your shoulders, but when we try and help out, it's like you push us away. And we don't understand why!"

Ryder sighed. _'I should have guessed Marshall was going to see right through me. He's pretty aware of me. They all are.'_

"You know something... you're right." Ryder stood up and turned to go inside, Marshall still in his arms. "That's why, when the others get home, I need to tell you all something important. Something I should have said a long time ago."

Marshall wondered if what Ryder had to say had to do with that name 'Alek' he'd heard Ryder mumble back in the hospital. "Alright, Ryder. You know you can talk to us whenever you're ready."

Marshall licked his cheek, and Ryder giggled as they walked inside. _'Maybe it has to do with that name, after all. I think I was the only one who heard it. Even so, I know Ryder isn't ready to talk right now. He's still pretty weak and tired, but compared to before, he looks so much better.'_

Ryder set Marshall down and decided he would get some more rest until the others returned home. After greeting Rocky and Skye, and managing to get them their breakfast together before he felt completely winded, the young leader retired to his bed to relax and try to get more rest.

 _'Before I tell them anything, I need to check in on them individually.'_ he thought as he reached over to get his PupPad. _'Zuma was worrying me, and then there's Chase... and no doubt Rocky, Skye and Rubble probably share their concerns, too. Marshall was the only one who asked me anything, but I'm not shocked. I need to know what I've missed out on.'_

Ryder swiped to the right and added some secret requests- Mr. Porter for a special pup cake, decorated with the words 'Thank You for Everything', Farmer Yumi and Farmer Al to thank them and ask to use their barnyard as a space for the event, among other things. He made sure to input a unique code for the information so the pups wouldn't get suspicious.

 _'As soon as I get the all clear from Miss Cynthia that I'm fully healed, this party will be a hit! I know we often have to plan our own things, and usually I'd like to get the others in Adventure Bay involved. But I think having some quality time with the pups would be better.'_

Ryder finished the party planning, and set his pad down as he heard the sound of vehicles pulling up to the driveway. Smiling as his pups ran in, barking and chatting, he made up his mind. _'Yeah. One thing at a time. My pups come first. We deserve this.'_

* * *

 **And done! Based on how I want the pups to communicate with Ryder, plus the final chapter with the party, I estimate this has... roughly 5 to 6 chapters before we're completely done!**

 **Please let me know what you all think, and I'll see you next chapter!**


	18. Being Young

**Hello all! Time for a little chat with Ryder and Rubble. Poor pup barely gets love around here, that's for sure.**

 **Also, I'd love your opinion on the new pups Tuck and Ella, the Mighty Twins! Their design and character profiles are so fun to work with, and I'm working on an AU PAW Patrol story of sorts that will include them- it's going to be a bit before I release details, so I hope you all will stick around!**

 **I'm also going to be doing an origin story after all- I had been debating it for a while, and before I start my PAW Patrol/Mario cross over, I want to at least get my own origin story out there. I hope you all will enjoy it!**

 **With that, please enjoy! I own nothing, per usual.**

* * *

 **Caretaker**

 **Chapter 18: Being Young**

Rubble pushed up his sleeping mask and sighed, poking his head out of his puphouse. He had no idea what time it was, but he guessed it was late by how dark it was. And how chilly it got out of nowhere.

Rubble hated the dark almost as much as ghosts (but nowhere near as much as spiders- Ryder told him he had a phobia, but when he tried to pronouce the word archnophobia, he got tongue tied). But he hated his family fighting amongst themselves the worst of them all. And that was all they seemed to do lately.

They argued because they were older, even Zuma, and they were together for so long, it made Rubble feel a bit left out. When he tried to get them to stop, he ws always pushed to the side just because he was the baby of the bunch. They treated him like he was a stupid little baby and it was frustrating!

"I wonder if... nah, he shouldn't be awake..." Rubble mumbled to himself, in regards to Ryder. He wanted to talk to him- well, Ryder had wanted to speak to all of them individually- but Rubble also knew Ryder needed his rest if he wanted to get well soon. He was getting much better, but not enough to go on missions and help lead the team.

Rubble winced- the last time he tried to help, Marshall all but yelled at him not to worry about the team, to worry about himself for once. Ryder had been taken aback, but Rubble knew that Marshall yelling over his health didn't faze Ryder- it made him worry. and in turn the pups worried about him.

As the bulldog made his way to the double doors, he hung his head. He'd been having nightmares, most of which he couldn't fully remember. The main pieces he could remember always had something to do with them and his worst fear, spiders. Every single time. Shuddering, Rubble walked inside- and was pleasantly shocked to see Ryder still awake, doing something on his Pup Pad.

"H-Hey, Ryder?" Rubble called out hesitantly. Ryder glanced over and smiled, quickly ending whatever he was doing and setting down his pad before he waved Rubble over to him. Rubble hopped on the bed and sat next to him, and sighed happily when he was instantly petted and scratched. Oh, how he missed scratches- almost as much as he missed Ryder making them meals!

"So I'm guessing you couldn't sleep, eh, Rubble?" Ryder asked after a few mimutes. He giggled at the not-so-well hidden expression of shame from his youngest pup. "It's alright. I couldn't really sleep, either."

"D-Did you... have a nightmare, too?"

Ryder arched an eyebrow. Was that what was keeping him awake? "Well... something like that, Rubble."

Rubble noticed Ryder's face looked real sad when he mentioned nightmares. _'Maybe its something scary to him? I probably shouldn't ask about it. It looks like he's kind of upset about it.'_

"What was your nightmare about, Rubble?" Ryder suddenly asked, snapping the pup out of his thoughts. He blinked and looked up at Ryder. "H-Huh? What?"

"Your nightmare? What was it about?" Ryder shrugged a shoulder. "Maybe I can... well, try and help?"

Rubble whined and buried his face in his side. He didn't want to be a bother to Ryder now, not after everything that had happened. But Ryder seemed kind of lonely, especially since Marshall basically kept him on lockdown for the rest of the week.

Ryder chuckled and petted his head. "What's up, Rubble? You're never like this. Was the nightmare that bad?"

Prying his face from his leader's side, Rubble plopped down on Ryder's lap and nodded. "Well, yes- no, but, yeah. It wasn't pretty. But... I feel kind of bad telling you about it."

"What? Why?"

"B-Because you're not supposed to be worrying about me! You're supposed to be getting better so everything can go back to normal!" Rubble cried out. He clapped his paw over his mouth when he realized what he'd blurted out. Ryder was stunned; was that how he really felt? Was his sickness making the pups feel... helpless?

"Rubble... you don't think you bother me or anything, right?" Ryder asked. Now the young leader was starting to worry. Were all his pups going through unspoken feelings like this? Ryder patiently waited for an answer to his question, so many thoughts running though his head he felt his head would explode unless he thought about something else entirely.

Rubble chewed his bottom lip. "...no..." he whispered so quietly Ryder had to tilt his head to hear him.

"What?"

"I-I mean, I..." Rubble didn't like this question. It felt like he would answer everything all wrong! He hated when things went wrong because that's how he ended up in trouble and-

"Rubble! Rubble, hey!" Ryder was shaking his pup now- it seemed like somehow, the poor bulldog was mumbling some strange nonsense. Well, not really nonsense- Rubble was prone to freaking out about a lot of things, especially when it related to his past. _'Don't I know the feeling.'_ Ryder thought sadly to himself. _'I'm starting to realize why I picked these pups. All of them.'_

"I'm sorry, Ryder..." Rubble whimpered. He looked at his owner with huge, sad, puppy-dog eyes. "C-Can I... tell you about my nightmare? If you... wanna-"

"Of course." Ryder didn't need to hear anything more. With a careful lift, Ryder had Rubble nestled against his chest, and draped his blanket over them for extra snuggles and warmth- something Rubble was all too happy to receive. Ryder let out a yawn.

"Whenever you want to start, Rubble." he said. Rubble didn't waste a moment.

"W-Well, in the nightmare, it was... well, weird. Like it was dark at first, so yeah, I was kinda scared. I didn't see anything or hear anyone, but I didn't want to move a single step, so I just sat there. Then, there was a weird change. Like everything just turned into the Lookout!"

"Changed? You mean the room transformed into the Lookout Tower?"

"Yes! Exactly that!" Rubble was already feeling better- it was like Ryder was made to understand these kinds of things! No wonder he was the leader, Rubble randomly thought before he continued. "So I was in the Lookout, and then I started to hear some creepy noises. Like... like something was heavy and coming towards me. It was very, very scary."

"Something like a spider?"

"Yeah..." At this point, Rubble started to sniffle and wipe his eyes. Ryder stroked his head and waited, feeling a small bit of dread knawing at his gut.

"Rubble? Was this the scary part?" He got a small nod in response.

"I-I wanted to see what the noise was... I thought I was strong enough to fight off a stupid spider. But I wasn't. It was so large and scary! It was black a-and red, and it had all these eyes that made me want to throw up!"

"Rubble..."

"It... It had you. You were... you were on its w-web, and you were trying to-to warn me to move away." Rubble covered his mouth with his paw in a weak attempt to stifle his tears. Ryder's expression softened and he hugged Rubble with all the strength he had. Now he was beginning to see what must've been going through his youngest pup's head, and he hated he hadn't been there to help him through it sooner.

"Shhhh… it's okay now, Rubble." Ryder comforted. "I'm here, and I'm alright. Don't cry."

"B-B-But it killed you! It bit your head off and I couldn't do anything but scream!" Rubble suddenly let out. Ryder blinked, a bit shocked his nightmare escalated to that.

"W-When I tried to find the others, t-they... they were dead, too. Except... except for Chase."

"Chase?" Ryder repeated. "Did you guys beat the spider together?"

Rubble shook his head no and took a deep breath. "Chase was really hurt. His leg was messed up and he couldn't walk." Rubble looked up at nothing in particular. Something about his expression worried Ryder, but he wasn't sure why.

"When I tried to ask Chase what had happened, he... he spat at me. Then he told me it was my fault everyone died."

"Whoa, wait- what?" Ryder did not think he could get a grasp on what he'd just heard. "Chase? OUR Chase? Blaming you for something like THAT?"

"Y-Yeah. He was so angry at me, even though... even though he was going to die, too." Rubble's breathing started to hitch and Ryder knew his tears weren't done yet. "I guess... it probably was my fault. I should have done something to help, instead of just running away from everything. T-Then you... and the others, a-and Chase wouldn't have..."

"No. No, stop right there." Ryder cut his story short, not wanting to hear anymore of it. He took Rubble's face into his hands and forced him to look up. "Stop saying that was your fault, Rubble. There was no way you could have known!"

"But that's what Chase and Marshall told me for weeks! That there was nothing I could've done, but there had to have been SOMETHING! I'm just useless!" Rubble growled angrily. "Everyone sees me as useless because I'm the youngest and I can't help that I am!"

Ryder stopped for a moment, gathering his thoughts and not wanting to alert the other pups. "Listen to me, Rubble. Even if it was a nightmare, and that was bad, there wasn't anything you could have done. You care about them, and they know that. They would never blame you. It's just..." Ryder paused. Rubble waited.

"Well, it's... definitely harder, especially when you're so young, and the others feel like they know it all because they're older." Rubble's face fell.

"But then, why do I feel like no one here cares?" Rubble cried. He lowered his head. "Everyone's always yelling and mad at one another and when I try to help, I get yelled at and it makes me feel worse! I just want to help them, not make them mad... and it's just like my nightmare. Chase is mad at me because I'm useless, the others barely notice me because I'm the youngest, and I have such a stupid, stupid fear!"

"Stupid fear? You mean your arachnophobia?"

Rubble heard the word 'arachnophobia', but had no clue what it meant. "A- rack-no... wha?" he questioned, head tilted. "And what does that even mean? You said it earlier, too."

Laughing, Ryder explained, "It's a long word, meaning 'fear of spiders'."

Rubble just shrugged; the word was way too long and he didn't think he was going to remember it. "Well, that. That's a really big word for such a stupid fear."

"And its NOT a stupid fear. Rocky has a phobia, too. And so does Chase, Zuma, Skye, Marshall... and me."

Rubble was in shock at what Ryder admitted. "Wait. It's not brussels sprouts, is it?"

Ryder crossed his legs and leaned back against his pillows. Checking the time, he saw it was late- it was pushing 3:45am. But he didn't feel sleepy- he wanted to make sure everything with Rubble was sorted out and his pup wouldn't doubt himself ever again.

"Rubble, you have three fears. Rocky has one, Zuma has one, Chase has a BIG one, Skye has one, and Marshall... well, he's a special pup. He's kind of hard to explain, but he has one, too." Ryder ticked off. "And Everest and Tracker have ones, too. So having a fear, or many fears, that's normal. It makes us, well, who we are. Pup or human."

"But you said you have a fear too, Ryder." Rubble was fascinated by all the fears his friends had, and wondered what he meant when he said Marshall was a 'special pup'. but the fact that his leader, their fearless leader who almost lost the ability to walk, who had possibly the scariest job of all of them, had ANY fear. Even though he was a kid like them. It just sounded weird to Rubble knowing what Ryder could do, but also hearing that he was scared of something.

"When I was in the hospital, I had nightmares, too." Ryder started off, struggling to figure out how to explain to his young pup what was going on. "And they... they were about my, um... my older brother. Alekzander."

If Rubble's mind wasn't blown before, it certainly was now. "You have an older brother?! For real?! Can we meet him? Where does he live? Is he like you? What about your parents? Are they in Adventure Bay? How come you didn't tell us sooner?"

Ryder laughed at all the questions the young mind came up with, and hugged Rubble again. "You remind me of what I used to be, Rubble. Being the youngest of my family. Always inquisitive. Always caring about others.", he mumbled softly. It was enough for Rubble to hear.

"You were the youngest, too? Oh, wow. I wonder what that was like..."

Ryder chuckled. "Not always the best. Alek would always pick on me, naturally, since I used to be a bit of a crybaby. He loved to tease me about being a 'mama's boy' since me and my Mom used to be pretty close."

"Wow... I wonder what my mom was like... or my dad. Or my siblings..." Rubble mused. Ryder wanted to punch himself- he'd forgotten that Rubble had been an orphaned pup on the streets!

"Oh, Rubble, I'm sorry-"

"No, no. It's better now. I have you guys!" Rubble licked Ryder's face and cheeks. "But you didn't tell me about your nightmare. Was it scary like mine?"

"... yeah. You see, my brother isn't... alive anymore. He died when I was young, and... well, my parents kind of blamed me for it."

"What?! Why? You couldn't have done that! Maybe there's some kind of explanation? There has to be!"

Ryder half- heartedly shrugged, looking at the sky outside the Lookout. "There is. And I'll tell you all about it later. But... my nightmare... it always had me reliving that day that he died. Every single time. And I... I always felt like I was weak. Like there should have been something I should have done, but I didn't."

"But its like you said, Ryder. You couldn't have known. I know Alekzander doesn't blame you, so you shouldn't listen to your parents, because, well, they're wrong!" Rubble stared firmly at Ryder.

"You're one of the bravest kids I ever met! You're kind, you're extra smart, and you're fearless. That's why we look up to you. That's why Chase respects you and everything you say. Because you're Ryder, and you can do anything!"

Ryder couldn't help the tears forming in his eyes as he listened to Rubble's innocent praises. _'I don't even deserve a fraction of what you just said to me, Rubble. I'm not brave, and I'm certainly not fearless. Smart was Alek's thing, he just taught me what I know. Without him, without you all... I'm nothing.'_

"Ryder? Are you alright?" Rubble asked, cutting his thoughts short. Ryder nodded and hugged Rubble tight.

"Thank you, Rubble. For putting faith in me. I promise I won't let you down."

"T-then... can you promise something else?"

Ryder nodded as he pulled back. Rubble tilted his head and pointed at Ryder's chest. "Can you promise to never scare me like this again? You getting sick was super, duper scary, way worse than my nightmare. Because... I really thought it had came true, and I didn't know what I was going to do if it did."

Ryder realized that he was the second pup who'd mentioned that Ryder was going to die in some way, shape or form. _'I know I was sick, and it was bad, but both Rubble and Marshall thought I was going to die! I don't understand- what happened to me? What isn't Marshall telling me?'_

"Well, I can't promise I won't get sick. I'm human, you know?" Ryder snuggled Rubble and nuzzled his cheek. "But I will promise to be more open with you guys. I'll let you know if I feel off, or if something is bothering me."

"So... does that mean you'll tell us about Alekzander?" Rubble asked innocently. "Because it seems like that was bothering you a lot, too." Ryder rolled his eyes, but smiled nonetheless. _'Rubble's pretty attentive, far more than I think me and the other pups give him credit for.'_

"Yes. You all deserve to know who he is. But that's going to be for a later time, because its late and we need to sleep." Ryder pulled back the blankets and waited for Rubble to hop off and head back to his pup house. But Rubble whimpered and looked over his shoulder with a 'can I stay here tonight?' look? Ryder waved him back over, and Rubble practically jumped over to him, quickly curling into a happy, relieved ball.

"What about your sleeping mask? You don't want to get that?" Ryder let out with a yawn. Rubble gasped, starting to head off the bed, but quickly paused and dismissed the whole idea.

"Ehhh, I don't need it for one night. I'll be fine with you here, Ryder!" Rubble settled in for the rest of the early morning, and let out a large yawn. "It's kind of chilly outside tonight, though. Can we stay under the blankets?"

"You won't... " Ryder yawned again, half-sleepily tossing the blankets over them both. "You won't get too hot?"

"As long as you don't roll over on top of me." Rubble replied. "Don't wanna be a flat pup..."

"Hmmng… y-yeah, I-I won't..." Ryder mumbled sleepily as he slowly drifted off.

When Ryder awoke the next morning, he sat up and stretched, yawning as he did so. Rubble was still asleep next to him, making cute little sounds as he seemed to have a pretty good dream. Ryder smiled, relieved that their small talk helped his pup relax and, hopefully, forget about his nightmare.

"Rubble, you remind me so much of myself as a child your age. I was the younger brother, the one who was overlooked because of my age, the one who was scared of just about everything, yet wanted to be acknowledged for my words and my opinions, too."

Rubble rolled over on his left side, and Ryder chuckled and gave him a light kiss on his cheek before he decided he'd been in bed enough. Checking the time, Ryder wondered why the Lookout was still so quiet- it was usually about the time Chase would be up and getting the other pups up, too.

"Perhaps they're still asleep." Using the opportunity to get some more movement in his legs, Ryder carefully threw his legs over to the side and pushed himself up. He wanted to laugh for joy- he didn't feel so short of breath standing up. In fact, he felt the best health-wise since he'd come home from the hospital.

"Alright. Now let's try and make some breakfast again. After that, check in on the pups and missions." Ryder gave himself a small to-do list. "I need to be doing something, since that last thing is almost done. I'm going crazy sitting in this bed-"

Then he remembered something else he needed to add to his task list. "Oh yeah! Also need to call Farmer Al and Yumi and thank them-and have Farmer Al and Rocky put my bed back in bedroom. Soon, too."

As Ryder stuck his feet into his bedtime slippers and made his way to the kitchen, Rubble cracked open one eye. He had felt the bed moving around as Ryder woke, and was secretly hoping Ryder would stay in bed a little longer with him. But he knew that Ryder was starting to get a bit restless from being cooped up in the bed- his voice was far stronger, he was feeling more and more like moving, and he was trying to help the pups more, even though Marshall still didn't want him to just yet.

Ryder settled on a small cup of apple juice since he didn't have much of an appetite. He walked outside, looking at the clear blue morning sky and taking a deep breath- it felt so good to finally get some actual fresh air!

As he mused over Rubble's nightmare and their conversation, Ryder spotted Zuma walking down the path towards the beach. He arched an eyebrow- what exactly was Zuma doing? And why wasn't he taking his hovercraft?

"Maybe I'd better go after him. He wasn't real talkative during the movie and I know he's got something on his mind." Ryder whirled on his heel and went inside, going to his bedroom to change into something more comfortable. Then he paused.

"Oh, but Marshall did tell me not to use my ATV until he clears me." Ryder headed back downstairs and out the Lookout doors, but Zuma had gotten pretty far and Ryder knew he wouldn't be able to jog after him. He went to his garage and grinned- tucked in a unused corner was an old bicycle. It was a little worn out, but still able to be ridden.

"Alright. Before the others realize I'm missing, especially Marshall, I'd better go see what's going on with Zuma." With that, Ryder carefully rolled his old bike out, put on his ATV helmet, and started pedaling down the road to catch up to his water rescue pup. Worry coursed through his mind, as well as caution not to overexert his still healing body. He knew exactly where to go- Zuma, after all, really ever only went to one spot when he wanted or needed time to himself.

 _'At this rate, I might get sick again from worrying over all my pups! I know things were hard, but... now, I wonder. Was I really as good a leader as the pups say I was? Why do I feel like I was letting them down so much?'_

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 **And complete! Rubble isn't the easiest to write with simply because he barely gets any air time, but he has so many fears and things like that I wanted to at least try and have him and Ryder kind of... relate with one another? If that makes sense.**

 **I hope I at least somewhat succeeded in that, so let me know what you guys think!**

 **With that, only (roughly) five more chapters to go! Until next chapter!**


	19. Ocean

**Hello all! Time for the next chapter, featuring another pup whom I personally feel gets so little love in this fandom. He's also one of my favorites. :)**

 **Please enjoy!**

* * *

 **Caretaker**

 **Chapter 19: Ocean**

Zuma stared out at the sea, losing himself to the waves. It was now going on about a week since Ryder came home from the hospital, and things were definitely different. Everyone had changed, and Zuma wasn't sure how he felt about it.

Missions and other tasks were still ongoing-well, they had to keep going. Even without Ryder there at that time, Zuma knew the town would always have problems, issues and problems that they had to handle. But what about them? What about their personal problems? What about needing some time to just breathe and stare at the water and not think or feel? Zuma let out a small sigh and shifted to his side.

Ryder still had roughly five days until he was to return to the hospital for a follow up visit. Zuma wondered how he was feeling, especially on the inside. Despite not having been with Ryder as long as Chase, Marshall and Skye, Zuma could tell that Ryder had his own personal demons to deal with.

The waves crashed against the rocks. Zuma listened to it, needing so badly to distract himself from reality. He felt weird inside. Very weird. He didn't like it.

"I mean... I should be happy, wight?" he asked himself, resting his head on his front paws. His ears sagged against his skull. "Wyder is home, he's getting better... so what is wwong with me...?"

Zuma knew that answer. Deep inside, he knew that answer. It was all the chaos before Ryder came home. Even some of the missions bothered him. Chase snapped at him one too many times, and despite his apologizes, Zuma didn't know how much more he could hold in before HE snapped.

"What am I supposed to do now?" he mumbled. "I should go back home. Maybe Wyder is wowwied-"

"Ah, there you are, Zuma." As if on cue somehow, Ryder pulled up on a bike Zuma had never seen before. The young boy's cheeks were a bit red, and it make Zuma wonder how far he'd walked before he settled on the far end of Big View Hill. Then he realized that Ryder had come after HIM, and he was still sick.

"Wyder?! What awe you doing hewe?!" Zuma exclaimed worriedly. "You shouldn't be out of bed! Mawshall will be so upset!"

Ryder laughed and walked over to him before he sat down next to him, stroking his back. "I know. I was asleep but Rubble had a pretty bad nightmare, so I talked with him until he fell asleep again, then I saw you heading off down here, so... well, here I am." Ryder collapsed on his back and tried to catch his breath. "Man, I didn't know how hard it would be to ride a bike while you're still sick! And I can't exactly use my ATV, either... WHEW, I'm winded!"

Zuma giggled lightly. Of course. _'It's Wyder. I should have known that he would have come after me.'_ he thought before he looked back out at the waves. Ryder slowly sat up after he felt his breath was back, and kept a space open for Zuma to come sit by him.

"W-Wyder…"

"Yeah, Zuma?"

Zuma inched closer to him, but kept his eyes on the relaxing sounds of the waves. "Do you... get scawed? Coming hewe?"

Ryder was staring at the clouds in the sky as he thought about Zuma's question. "Hmm... I don't know. I hadn't come back here since the whole incident happened, so... I don't know if I'm supposed to feel scared anymore."

He smiled a little, resting his hand on Zuma's head. "Although, if I'm being honest, I like it here. It really is a good place to see the ocean and sky. Isn't it?"

Zuma nodded in agreement. "Especially the waves. I like listening to them. They sound so welaxing…" He trailed off.

For the next several moments, both boy and pup listened to the sounds of nature around them. Ryder hadn't felt so relaxed since before he got sick, and he wondered why he never spent more time with Zuma doing things like this. _'Then again, Zuma is one of the few pups I don't think I spend enough time with. He's usually a chill pup, just goes with the flow, but right now, he feels kind of tense. This is it. I need to talk to him and get things aired out so they will understand later.'_

"Hey, Zuma."

"Yeah?"

Ryder sat up. "What is going through your head? I know you had something on your mind since movie night." When Zuma stayed silent, Ryder continued. "Please? It's not like my most relaxed and chill pup to have so much tension on his back and so much in his head. Talk to me."

Zuma opened his mouth to speak, closed it, tried again, and eventually gave up. He shook his head no and resumed staring at the water. "I can't weally say." he finally settled on.

Ryder tilted his head. "How come? Is it something I did?"

"No!" Zuma whipped his head around, mortified at the words his owner spoke. "It's not you, Wyder! Why would you think that? Why would you evew SAY that?"

Ryder was caught off guard- Zuma, his most nonchalant and usually calm of his pups, seemed almost as angry as Marshall when he'd first gotten ill. "Zuma, I-"

"No, no, no! You don't get to say things like that, Wyder! You don't get to say that!" Zuma cried, running into his arms. Now Ryder was more confused. What was going on? What just happened?

"Zuma, wait, I-"

The pup had his face buried in Ryder's chest, and Ryder gasped when he felt dampness where his face was pressed. _'Zuma's crying? Around me? What is going on with you, Zuma? What's getting you so upset?'_

"Shhh, Zuma. Relax now, I'm here." Ryder consoled gently, rocking a little to help his pup. "It's going to be alright. We're going to be alright."

After a few minutes, Zuma had collected himself and calmed down. He wouldn't move from Ryder's arms, though, instead resting his head against his chest. "Zuma. I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to upset you like this. I'm just worried about you."

Ryder glanced up at the crashing waves, and slowly, he began to feel a small sense of serenity. The sun was angled perfectly, creating lovely glimmers within the ocean's waves. The cool ocean breeze almost made him want to nap out here, but he knew he was running on a bit of a timer.

"I just feel like I've been letting you all down lately. Especially with all this."

Zuma hummed in response. Ryder kept going. "I knew for a while I hadn't been feeling well. And yeah, we've been working hard, doing missions and other things for the people of Adventure Bay. And yes, I love what we do. I really do. But..."

"Sometimes you want to take a bweak from it all?" Zuma spoke up. He was feeling a bit better, but he still wouldn't get out of Ryder's arms. Ryder lowered him on his lap so that he could resume watching the ocean and sighed contently. It was so peaceful out here... he kind of missed it.

"... yeah. And not just me. You pups, too." Ryder wondered how he never had time to come up here. This was amazing... something he couldn't do often enough but he would do again if he had a chance. "We've worked so hard over the years, and it never occurred to me how little we take time off."

Zuma nodded in agreement. Ryder eyed him; it was now or never. "So, Zuma. You wanna talk yet?"

The water loving pup groaned under his paws, but realized he couldn't avoid it any longer. "I-its not... anything bad, Wyder. I just... well, I, uhh..."

"What's wrong, Zuma? You've never been so tense before... and you're usually so calm and more 'with the flow', you know?"

"I-I know! I know, I know, I know...!" Zuma cried, tugging at his ears out of frustration. Ryder scratched his back, hoping he would calm down. He did, shockingly, and sat up to face Ryder. Maybe it was time he took the opportunity to talk with Ryder before he didn't get much of another chance. Especially with all the craziness that just happened.

"I know... and I-I'm sowwy for yelling at you." Zuma awkwardly rubbed his left leg, looking down at the grass. He couldn't look at him, right in the face... he was too gentle, too kind, too... well, Ryder. But he was just the person to talk to. Rocky had been checking on him since Ryder was admitted, and Marshall even before then, but Zuma always felt saying 'I'm cool, dude' would make him eventually _feel_ that way. But it didn't.

"I just felt weiwd. Like, off or something. Evew since you got sick, Chase has been so mean to evewyone, always yelling and I know he's your closest fwiend and I didn't want to say anything but I-I feel like I'm not doing my pawt to help the team and I-I-"

Zuma was starting to shed tears, and his voice cracked. Ryder felt horrible- was that how Zuma really saw himself on the team? Had he been feeling so let down? How didn't he see that sooner? And how did he get in his head Chase was his closest friend and that somehow meant he would automatically take his side?

 _'What have I been doing all these years? I think I depend on Marshall and Chase too much, and yet I still couldn't tell them what kept me up sometimes. Zuma... I didn't know...'_

"Zuma... I didn't know you were struggling to handle this alone..." Ryder whispered. He pulled Zuma close once more and hugged him. "Do you really think you aren't doing your part on the team? Do you really believe I think so little of you?"

"Yes!" he cried, pushing away from him. "What else am I supposed to think? You were wowking so hawd and I didn't stop you fwom doing it, and I feel like I don't belong on this team! Chase, Mawshall, those two belong hewe! They pull the whole team and the west of us, we just stand thewe like idiots!"

Zuma angrily slammed his paws against Ryder's chest. "Chase has been twying to keep us together but he's stawting to scawe me. He's always so mean, and I feel like he... he doesn't want any of us on the team! And it... it makes me feel useless..."

Ryder listened hard. There was no way he'd been so blind to what he'd been doing to his other pups, and even he had to admit, Marshall and Chase had the heaviest workloads- Chase being a police pup of the law, and Marshall being both the firepup AND their medical pup...

But here he was. Zuma had noticed it for some time and this incident must've been what broke the camel's back. He stroked Zuma's head and back and heaved a heavy sigh- now that he knew what was probably not only on Zuma's mind, but possibly Rocky and even Rubble's, it was definitely time to put this to rest and make sure it never came up again.

"You really believe that? Because a certain pup of our team doesn't see that one bit... and neither do I."

Zuma wiped his eyes and glanced up. "W-Wocky?" he questioned. His head tilted. "Well, yeah, of couwse he wouldn't. He's my best fwiend. But what does that have to do with this?"

Ryder nodded. "A little bit, actually. Remember, when you and Rocky first met, you and him used to fight and argue a lot. Do you remember why?"

Zuma had to think about that- he'd been friends with Rocky for so long, even before he got to know the others, it felt like it was always natural. As he tapped his chin in thought, it hit him. There _was_ a time when he and Rocky couldn't stand one another- and it was because of their clashing personlalities. When he answered with that, Ryder agreed and explained his reasoning.

"You were always my laid back pup. Chase and Rocky used to butt heads too, but when you came on the team, it was more like they had to learn to be friends. Because of you."

"What? Wocky? Chase?" Then Zuma paused. "Well, Chase was always a very sewious police pup. But what-"

"Hold on, Zuma. So the reason they had to get along was because of your laid back personality. You naturally had this kind of energy that made others draw themselves to you. You were so easy to talk to and approach and I think Chase was a bit jealous and Rocky, a bit wary. Eventually, Chase realized he was wrong to judge you, but you and Rocky... it took a little bit longer to get you two to get along."

"Until the day I found out he was scawed of water..." Zuma finished as the last bit of the memory hit him. "But Wyder, I still don't get it. What does Wocky being my fwiend have to do with how I feel wight now?"

"You think Chase is pushing you away because you don't do as much as he and Marshall. But he's not; this, I can assure you." Ryder cupped his water pup's cheek. "He loves you, Zuma. Just like he loved the rest of us. And it's taken a lot more out of him to actually be a leader. He's never had confidence in himself, not like you have."

"I... have confidence...?" Zuma asked in a child-like voice. "I don't... feel like I do wight now... I feel mowe like a big cwybaby."

Ryder smiled and nodded. "Yes, you do. Even when you think you don't. You're never afraid to keep moving, and you actually inspire a lot more pups around you then you think. You honestly inspire me sometimes."

"W-Weally…? I-I do?" Zuma was honestly a bit taken aback- he and Ryder never spent enough time together, not like Zuma spent with Rocky or Marshall or Rubble. He didn't think Ryder had any real thoughts on... him as a pup. Let alone something like... well, that.

"Yes, silly pup!" Ryder laughed at the shocked expression on Zuma's face. He set the still slightly stunned pup down and stood up to stretch. "but more importantly, you have a really calming energy, Zuma. You really are like the ocean- you tend to just go with the flow, and maybe that's what stopped you from knocking some sense into my hard head when I overworked myself. Knowing you, you figured that Chase or Marshall would have forced me to slow down before it went too far. Right?"

"Y-Yeah... I guess so..." Then Zuma looked at Ryder with worry. "B-but it's not just theiw job! We all messed up big time and you got WEALLY sick because of it! What if it happens again? What if you work too hawd and you can't stop and-"

"I won't."

Ryder knelt in front of him. "I won't, Zuma. After this, after all the thoughts I've had trapped in my head that I need to tell you all, I know that loving what we do, loving my town and it's people... it should not come before loving myself, loving you guys... and giving us a real vacation."

Ryder opened his arms and Zuma leapt into them. He was starting to feel a little better, but he had a lot to process, too. "Thanks, Wyder. For this." he said, honestly glad he got so much off his chest. Now he felt like he could talk with Chase and not have another breakdown.

"Actually, I should thank you, Zuma. And we need to come here more often." Ryder jerked his head to the ocean. "It's beautiful out here. And I didn't notice it before- I would never have noticed it without following you."

"I like being with the watew, Wyder." Zuma replied, licking his friend's chin. "But... it would be awesome if me and you can come back sometime. I like being out hewe, but I think I like it more with you."

Before Ryder could respond, Zuma's pup tag blinked. _'ZUMA! Ryder, he's gone! Where is he?! He's not supposed to be out of bed for another few days and he needs to take this last bit of medicine!'_ Marshall's panicked scream came over, causing both pup and boy to wince.

"Mawshall! Dude! Mawshall! Wyder's wight here with me!" Zuma managed to answer. "He came after me because I wan off! We'we coming back wight now! Just welax, okay? We'we on ouw way back!"

There was a bit of silence on the other end, the only thing being slightly fast breathing. Then Marshall spoke. _'... alright. Be careful, you guys.'_

The call ended. Ryder's brows furrowed into a worried expression- why was Marshall screaming one moment, then almost defeated the next? Zuma managed to diffuse the situation but Marshall sounded scared... usually scared.

"I wonder if Mawshall's okay. He didn't sound like his usual self." Zuma mused. Ryder agreed.

 _'Oh boy... Marshall sounded too worried, and I just spoke with him! But I'm certain it's only because I'm still his patient. I probably should have at least left a call or something before I chased after Zuma. I've got to make sure he doesn't snap at him- it was my choice to go after him.'_

Carrying Zuma in his arms, Ryder hopped on his bike, with Zuma hanging on to the handle bars as they biked home. Zuma felt so much better and was howling in happiness as they rode down a small hill. Ryder now had something else occupying his already filled head- how he was going to handle a panicking Marshall.

 _'I don't think I'm going to have much time to talk to the pups about my past before Chase or Marshall loses it. I should talk to both of them- they've been taking literally everything on their shoulders and I'm not making it easier for them.'_

* * *

 **And done! This was a bit harder to write than I thought- between life hitting me and having to move, Starbucks (I work here, sadly) driving me insane and getting so stressed out I got sick, I wasn't sure if I'd ever get this done.**

 **I hope you guys liked this chapter and feel free to leave a review with your thoughts on it.**

 **Until next chapter!**


	20. Picking Up The Pieces

**Hello all! First and foremost, a shoutout to Bluewolfbat! He made a wonderful analytical video series based on my story (never thought that was gonna happen) awhile back entitled "Could the Pups' Personalities Represent Their Jobs?, pt. 1", so please head over to YouTube to give it a watch if you've been enjoying this story so far! Also, check out his stories on this site, featuring his OC, Snowflake! His username on YouTube is: AnimalPawPatrol. **

**Second, I owe a MASSIVE apology for the long wait. To keep the story short, I've moved about seven months ago into my (boyfriend's) cousin's house with him, and she's not too keen on getting good high speed internet. It's been annoying enough with that, but I also stared a new job that's a not-barista type of work, so I've had no time to actually type. It's just been a pain (love my job, hate not typing). But I've gotten a new iPad so I've been able to type on my that, and I'm trying to get drafts done at least. So please bear with me, guys! I'm sorry you had to wait so long!**

 **Lastly, due to the craziness from this virus, I'm currently at home, as thousands of others are. Please, please stay safe during this time. I'll try my best to update a bit more... well, often.**

 **Anyways, here is the next chapter. I had a draft half way done but fate did not want me to use it as it got delayed before I watched one of Bluewolfbat's videos and it gave me a new idea. So I'm hoping you guys will like this one! Happy feast day to all and enjoy your weekend!**

* * *

 **Caretaker**

 **Chapter 20-Picking Up The Pieces**

Zuma seemed more relaxed than what Ryder felt as they headed home. Marshall sounded so panicky- but that would happen if you were sick and in a hospital for who knew how long, he assumed.

Ryder ran through about ten different explanation scenarios in his head as he parked his bike and caught his breath. Yeah, until he was 100 percent, bike riding was out.

"Hey, Wyder? You okay, dude?" Zuma asked as he looked in his eyes. In the spirit of feeling more like himself, he'd noticed the slight wheezing and tinted cheeks and hoped he didn't aggravate Ryder's healing.

Ryder smiled and patted his head. "Y-Yeah, Zuma. I'm good... just a bit... w-winded." He chuckled as he put his bike away. " Still not q-quite myself..."

Zuma didn't like Ryder's flushed face, but he accepted that before he looked at the entrance. Marshall was still pacing back and forth, and Zuma realized Ryder hadn't made a move to go inside.

"It's Mawshall? Wowwying you?" Zuma asked thoughtfully. Ryder sighed and shook his head as his breathing steadied and his heart stopped feeling like a drum.

"I guess I'd better get in there before he worries more, huh?"

Zuma nodded. "I'll be in my puphouse. Don't wowwy, Wyder. You got this."

With that, boy and pup went their separate ways. Ryder wasn't scared of his pup- frankly, with all that's happened, he understood why he was like he was. But he knew when Marshall got to this kind of state, there was only one thing to do.

Talk to him and get him to calm down.

Allowing the doors to slid open, Marshall immediately perked up, then charged at Ryder with more energy than normal. Ryder stepped back a brief moment, a bit thrown off by the sudden rush.

"Where were you?! You're not fully well yet and you just-you, you just _LEFT_?! A-And riding a bike, no less! And what if something happened to you!" Marshall was demanding angrily. "How did you expect us to find you?! _HUH_!?"

Ryder blinked- when was the last time Marshall got so upset like this? _'This might be hard to get a word in edgewise.'_ Ryder thought to himself as Marshall ranted.

"What if something happened to you?! You left your Pup Pad here, I-I couldn't get a hold of you, no-no one could _REACH_ you! A-And what if Zuma wasn't with you?! I-I didn't-!"

Ryder leaned forward and scooped the trembling and very angry pup in his arms. "Hey, it's alright." Ryder soothed. "And you're right. I should have said something or at least brought some way for you guys to reach me. I'm sorry, for worrying you."

Marshall was struggling to hear his owner's words, but the simple fact that Ryder was still not better and he could've been hurt or stranded again, or _worse-_

"I just wanted to check on Zuma- he ran off and he needed a listening ear. So I went after him." Ryder explained as he carried Marshall over to his bed and sat down.

"Where is everyone? I didn't see them in their pup houses."

Marshall half heartly shrugged. "I spoke to Chase... well, I just asked if he'd seen you. He said something to me but I wasn't..."

"Really listening. I know."

Ryder absently started scratching behind Marshall's ear. After a moment, he asked, "How are you feeling, Marshall?"

"I-I don't know..." the young pup admitted. He sighed heavily and turned his head to stare at the charging Pup Pad nearby on a nightstand. "Too much is happening and I don't think I can handle anything else right now."

"That, I can understand." Ryder's expression fell slightly as he thought about his brother. "I can definitely understand that."

"Hey, uh, Ryder?"

"Yeah?"

Marshall pushed against Ryder's chest and stretched to lick his cheek. "I'm sorry for yelling at you like that. I didn't mean to and I was way out of line."

Ryder smiled warmly and shook his head. "No, Marshall. It was my fault for reacting carelessly and not communicating and making sure I listened. I know you're making sure I'm getting well, and I'll always be grateful to you for that."

Marshall giggled as Ryder patted his head. Then his expression turned serious. "But Marshall, I'm worried about you. About the others. I really feel I've put too much on you guys, especially with what happened recently..."

Marshall sighed. "It's not just that. I mean, yeah, seeing you so sick was one thing, but... I don't know. It was just... not what I expected to have happened, I guess."

He paused. Ryder saw his face scrunch up in a manner that meant only one thing- Marshal was trying to ask something. He knew he just needed to wait.

"Ryder, um... uhh, w-who... who is Alek?" Marshall wondered. At that, Ryder's expression went to pure shock. Had he mentioned something to Marshall? Did he read anything lying around his room? How did he know?

"Wait... Marshall? What brought that on?" Ryder wondered, hoping his voice was at least neutral. "Where did you hear this?"

Marshall whimpered, questioning his reasons for opening his big mouth- but he eventually answered. "I, uh... I heard you... m-mumbling... his name... in your sleep once. I wasn't trying to be nosy, I swear-!"

"Oh it's okay, Marshall." Ryder smiled lightly. "I know you weren't being nosy." He teacher around and hugged his pup tight. A plan was forming in his mind.

"Marshall. Could you do me a favor?"

"Yeah?"

"I want to talk to Skye and Rocky. Could you send Skye in here first? And I need you to send Rocky in, after one hour."

Marshall tilted his head in confusion. Ryder petted his head and gently pushed him off the bed. "Don't worry. After I'm done, I want you all in here. I have a story I'll need to share, which will answer all your questions."

Marshall still wasn't following, but listened to what he said. He hopped off his bed and went to get Skye.

* * *

"Hey, Ryder!" Skye's cheery voice perked Ryder up. He didn't realize how much he missed his aviator pup until she happily hopped in the room, eyes bright and ears perky.

"Hey, Skye. How have you been?" Ryder asked. Hopping on the bed with a lot more energy than she felt she had in days, she licked Ryder's face and cheeks before settling down on his legs. Ryder scratched behind Skye's ear, earning a content sigh and leg tap from her.

"Hahaha, I missed this, too!" Ryder laughed as Skye hopped in his arms for a thank you hug and kiss.

"Well, I can definitely say that I'm glad that you're alright and home, Ryder." Skye replied with a genuine smile. "We really missed you around."

Ryder could see what she meant. "I missed you guys, too. That hospital just wasn't for me, and I couldn't wait to get out of there. Skye, I was so tired but I felt so weak and helpless, you know?" He sighed. " It felt like I was letting you all down."

Skye smiled tiredly. "I think we all know that feeling. Especially the first few days after we took you to the hospital." She then got in Ryder's face, sensing that "beating up self" thing he was becoming more prone of doing as of recent. _'Self-loathing, maybe? No, he doesn't HATE hate himself... but he's definitely hard on himself. Guess that's where Chase gets it from.'  
_

"Ryder. You're making that face again. Stop it." she said firmly. "It's bad enough Chase and Marshall do that, like, every day!"

"I-I,uh, well..." Ryder lowered his head in shame. "I'm sorry. I know, it's not helping anyone right now. But I'm so-"

"Tired? Angry? Guilty?" Skye finished sadly, catching Ryder off guard. Before he could reply, she continued.

"Trust me, I was, too. But I'm not tired like I want to sleep, even though at times I did that just to get away from the arguing and questions and rescues!" She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"It's like, I'm tired of Adventure Bay altogether, Ryder. I just want a space to myself and just cry or scream, or-or something! So I-I was mostly in my pup house."

"Mostly?"

Skye felt a bit guilt for admitting that. She lowered her eyes and nodded. "Yeah, mostly. I spent time breaking up fights between Chase and Marshall, checking in Rubble and Zuma, keeping everyone from killing each other."

"Oh, Skye, you, too..." Ryder scratched behind her ear in a way to let her know he wasn't mad-not at the pups, at least. Regardless of what she'd said before, he was feeling worse than before. Him being sick was affecting the pups in a way he'd never seen before. Being ten years old, he had to remind himself that he didn't know how to handle everything, at least, not things this complex.

They were just kids. Just kids who-

"We're growing up so fast, aren't we." Ryder sounded almost nostalgic about the whole thing, as if he was far older than what he was. Skye couldn't really say he was wrong-they were young physically, but they were definity far more mature than most of the adults they saved day in and out.

"Yeah... we are." Skye agreed and the pair sat in silence for awhile.

"Hey, um, Ryder?"

"Yeah?"

Skye peered up at him, wanting to see his response to this question. "Are you really alright?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, I know you're getting better, physically. I'm so glad we have you home, to see and know you're better. But..."

Skye paused, phrasing the next words carefully. "I guess what I'm asking is how do you feel? Mentally? Not physically, just, you know. Mentally." she finished with a nervous laugh. "Sorry, I must sound so weird right now-"

Ryder dimissed it. "No, no. Skye, you are you not "weird sounding". In fact, you're acting like I should be."

"W-wait, what? I am?" Skye asked, slightly confused. Ryder nodded and finally swung his legs over the edge of the bed, sitting up. He stretched and sighed, feeling a bit better that he was sitting up and not stuck laying down like he was before.

"Ahh! Feels way better now that I'm sitting up!" He exclaimed happily, causing Skye to chuckle a litttle. Ryder did as well, just happy to be up.

"So? How do you feel, Ryder?" she asked again. Ryder hummed in thought.

"I think I'll feel better once I get what I need to say out of my chest." He answered with such sincerity that Skye almost didn't want to ask any other questions. But ask she did.

"What do you mean, Ryder?" she asked. Ryder looked at no particular spot on the ground, his hands lightly clasped together.

"I need to tell you pups something. Something I should have told you a long time ago, or at least... when we formed the PAW Patrol." he explained. "But first, I need to talk to Rocky. How has he been?"

Skyes face fell. "Well, things were kind of... well, hard. Especially the first few days when you fell ill. Then it was pretty much like I said before- stress, guilt, and anger."

Ryder bit his tongue. This would definitly require them all to be together, to have everyone hear how each other really felt. So he made up his mind.

"Skye. My PupPad is dying. Could you do me a favor and call everyone?"

Skye sat up, head tilted to one side. "Sure, Ryder. But, umm... why? Didn't you want to talk to Rocky alone?"

"Yeah, but I'm seeing now this isn't the way. It's better for all of them to hear what you just told me, and what I need to say. Get them all, please?"

"...y-yeah. Got it." Skye couldn't find anything else to say so she left to get the rest of the team.

Once she left, Ryder made a mental note to visit his brothers resting place- and to bring the pups so that they could meet him. He inhaled and exhaled deeply, coughing a bit as he settled and waited for his pups. He knew he couldn't have a proper speech ready like he usually did, so he would just have to be open.

"It keeps getting harder and harder, doesn't it?" he mumbled to himself.

* * *

"Was he play? Skye, what's going on?!" Chat kept asking as Skye ushered them down to the bed. Skye just shook her head as she lead the way.

"I don't really get it myself, Chase. He seems like he's getting much better, but..." She sighed. "I don't know, it seems like something is really heavy is on his mind."

Char frowned; sure, Ryder had a pretty messed up past-that was probably the reason why he was calling them now-but why didn't he call Rocky like planned?

"Wait a minute-what happened to Ryder talking to _all_ of us? Like, one at a time?" Rubble asked. "Rocky didn't get his turn!"

Rocky, for the most part, didn't seem too concerned about it. "Ehhhhh, I don't mind. Besides, if I at least talk to Ryder while were all together, it'll make things a little easier to handle in the long run. You know?"

"Yeah, that's true." Chase agreed. Marshall tapped his shoulder.

"You're not nervous, are you?" He asked. Chase shook his head no.

"It's not that I'm nervous or anything, but- " He ran into something soft before he could finish. Ryder waited for them with a smile.

"Hey, pups. It sure feels like a long time since I've seen you guys." He said warmly. "Can you guys come over? There is a lot I need to catch you up on."

One by one, the pups came in, a bit nervous. Well, except for Chase, who had a feeling what Ryder was going to say-and was partly relieved that he was going to talk. But a small part of him did wonder if the others would be upset at him for not saying anything sooner.

"Ryder...?" Marshall was scrutinizing the boy as he hopped on the bed, making sure there was no bruise or anything that Ryder could try to play off as 'okay'. "Is everything alright? Are you hurt? Feeling funny? Something bothering you? Do we need to call Cynthia again? Are-"

Ryder put his hand up to silence his pups. "Relax, pups. I'll explain. But first..."

He motioned to Chase to come closer. Chase gulped but stood firm as he sat next to him.

' _It's about_ _time. Frankly, when he was done forming the PAW Patrol, he should have said something. But with the rescues, the constant news conferences, the lack of rest and relaxation, there was no way he would have had time to mention anything to them!'_ he thought as he looked his teammates in the eyes.

 _'But then again... it's not like this would be easy to talk about, either. People's past isn't always easy to bring up. And Ryder is only 10. He hasn't lived enough of a life but what he HAS lived... it sucks. And I'm sure it's painful enough knowing your family blames you for something you would have had no control over. Ryder..."_

Ryder sat cross-legged on the bed, petting Chase, and occasionally coughing as well. "So, pups... this isn't easy to talk about or say... or think about, honestly. But here we go, I guess."

He took a deep breath, exhaled. "Originally, I wanted to talk to each of you individually because I was worried about you all. I thought that if I worried about your, well, I wouldn't need to worry about my own issues, I suppose."

The pups whined, but Chase shook his head and out his paw up. "Hang on a moment, pups. Let him finish."

Ryder smiled in thanks before he felt an annoying light tickle in the back of his throat. He cleared his voice, hoping Marshall, for once, wouldn't have noticed that.

"As I was saying, pups, my life before Adventure Bay, before the PAW Patrol, before I became who I am now, it wasn't what you would have expected. I... well, I..."

The same tickle came back again, a bit more annoying than before. Ryder knocked his chest a bit, which of course, alerted Marshall to him. Ryder pushed him back a bit and tried to shake his head.

"Don't worry, Marshall. I'm fine..." Ryder panted. " Just got a tickle in my throat; remember, I'm not fully better yet." He cleared his throat and tried again.

"A lot happened to me, ever since I was basically born. Chase was there for some of it, so I made him kind of promise..." Ryder coughed again, leaving Marshall wondering what was going on. Wasn't he supposed to be getting better? Wait, he _HAD_ been getting better! At least, that's what Ryder said!

"Ryder? Ryder, you're turning red!" Marshall exclaimed as he barked out his thermometer. _'I knew it! He keeps pushing himself too dang hard! His body hasn't had time to heal from all this!'_

As Marshall stock the thermometer in his mouth and noted his temp, the others surrounded them, concern and worry all across their face. Marshall chewed his lip as he looked at the thermometer.

"M-Marshall...?" Rubble asked hesitatingly. "I-Is he...?"

"No fever, thankfully. But his body is heating up a bit higher than normal." Marshall mumbled mostly to himself. He sighed as the number showed 99.4 degrees Fahrenheit. "It's okay, guys. Ryder's telling the truth- he's okay."

Chase leaned in, trying to see what Marshall was saying. He thought about the scare at hand. "Guys, whatever Ryder was going to tell us, I think it better wait." Chase decided. He placed a paw on Marshall's shoulder.

"Marshall, you're the most experienced of us with this kind of thing. What should we do?" Chase asked. Marshall almost didn't hear what was asked of him; his eyes were focused on Ryder, and what he needed to do to keep Ryder home.

"Hey, uh, Marshall-?" The young dally jumped out of his skin, startled from his thoughts.

"Sorry, sorry!" Chase had his paws up in peace. " But, uh, what are we supposed to do?"

Marshall blanked out for a split second before he heard Chase's question proper, and saw the worried looks of his friends. Then he looked down at Ryder, who was laying back down and slightly wheezing from all his coughing.

"Well, the good news is that Ryder isn't too bad. He doesn't have a fever, just the coughing. But it's wearing him out faster than normal because he's still not 100 percent." Marshall explained. He barked his thermometer away.

The others all let out sighs of relief as well- no really bad news. Marshall tugged Ryder's blanket over him as he tried to sit back up- he has been feeling so much stronger than this! What happened?

"Well, what should we do?" Rubble asked worriedly. "Should we take him to see Miss Cynthia again?"

Rocky sat up and looked at Marshall and Chase. "I'm no leader, but guys, I really think he needs to go. There might be something else going on with him that we don't know about yet."

"Something _else_? But we just got him out the hospital!" Rubble exclaimed. "Does that mean we have to back there _again_?"

At that, Ryder struggled to sit up, overhearing enough of the pups conversation. He didn't want them to have to make another round to the hospital, not after all the time he spent there already, not after it took them so long to get him home.

"N-no, pups. No hospital trip." Ryder insisted. "I-I'm okay, really. Just... just a little winded, that's all." He chuckled weakly. "Think I may o-of overdid it a little, really. Don't worry."

None of the pups believed a word of Ryder's claim, but since he was still their true leader, there wasn't a whole lot they could do, not even Marshall. Said pup was hovering worriedly over Ryder, taking into account everything that the others were saying.

"Ryder, you should probably go to your next appointment a little earlier than planned. Just to check and make sure everything is alright, you know?" Chase sighed heavily and sat back on his hunches. The others smiled at his decision.

Ryder looked at them all. He was silent in thought. _'This whole time, I thought I was doing a good job keeping things away from them. I thought that they be fine if I just pretended to act like I was fine. But it looks like I was completely, utterly writing. About a lot of things. Mostly about my own pups.'_

"Pups..." Ryder started. They all looked up at him.

"We can go to the hospital. But I'm not going to until I say what I have to say first." Ryder seemed pretty determined to get what he wanted to say off his chest. Chase and Marshall both groaned, but decided to respect his leader's decision.

Ryder was starting to feel a slight pain in his head and chest, but pushed it aside for now. He crossed his legs, inhaled and exhaled deeply. "This is something that had bothering me for a very long time now. Well, it's lot of things, really. Mostly things from my past, things that I should have said before."

"Your past, Ryder?" Skye asked, wondering if that had anything to do with what they personally talked about earlier. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about what happened before I met you all, before I became the PAW Patrol. Basically, who I was before you knew me as, well, Ryder."

Marshall, who has been trying not to bring up what he'd heard at the hospital, blurted it, "Does that mean you'll tell us about Alek?"

Ryder nodded before coughing. Everyone else looked at him, confused. "Who's Alek?" they asked simultaneously.

Before Ryder had a chance to answer, Marshall out his paw up. "Hey, guys. I'm just as curious as you are, but let's let Ryder rest. We need to call Miss Cynthia and tell her we're making a return trip."

"But, pups-"

"No buts! Ryder, you _did_ ride a bike to catch Zuma earlier and you're trying to do that forcing things again. And you're still coughing!" Marshall argued. Then his voice softened.

"Just rest. Alek, your past, us... it can wait."

Ryder wasn't having it, though. He wanted to get it off his chest, sickness be darned. "Marshall. Pups. Please, just listen. I'm still going to be stuck for a little while. So while I can..."

They all stopped, looking at one another with uncertainty. Marshall bit his lip in worry. Ryder was a bit more determined than usual, so this was very important to him. Finally, Marshall relented.

"Okay. Okay, Ryder. But I'm watching you, and the minute your temperature goes up or something changed slightly we are going to the doctor. Deal?"

Ryder smiled. " Deal."

* * *

 **FINALLY! End freaking chapter! JEEZ!**

 **So a few things-one, this chapter took WAY too long(did I not mention that before? -_-) It was also my hardest chapter to write for a few reasons. The big one being I was receiving so many wonderful ideas and I didn't want to feel like I wasn't listening to everyone who read my disaster chapter and offered them to me. So a special shoutout to the following: Bluewolfbat, MarshallV2018, and Dargur. Thank you!**

 **The second reason was as I mentioned before in my AU-I moved seven months ago, and I'm getting ready to move out again. Also, me and my boyfriend had a lot going on so I lost a LOT of interest in writing altogether. Things aren't perfect, but it's better, especially since I'm actively searching for my new place before school starts. So basically, life happened.  
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 **I think I covered everything so far in regards to life, so now for this FanFiction. There are roughly five to six chapters left, most of which I've drafted already. Due to this quarantine, I know I'll have more time on my hands to update and that's what I'm going to do.  
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I truly hope everyone is staying safe during this time, and once again thank you so, so much for being so patient with me.** **  
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 **Until next chapter!**


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